Lodged in the middle of Washington, DC, the 10-acre CityCenterDC is a multi-use development of condominiums, apartments, offices, public spaces, hotels, retail boutiques, restaurants, and the recently opened RareSweets. Designed by locally based architecture and design firm CORE in partnership with general contractor Potomac Construction Services, the contemporary 1,200-square-foot bakery is headed by pastry chef and founder Meredith Tomason.
“We are a company founded on reinterpreting heritage American baking recipes for a modern palate and wanted the design of our shop to reflect this idea of mixing modernity with hints of the past,” says Tomason. “As a new company, we wanted to make sure that our brand concept was integrally tied to our bakeshop design to make a lasting impression on our customers from their first step in the door.”
To clearly communicate Tomason’s personal vision, CORE’s director of hospitality design Allison Cooke aimed to create a fresh space omitting typical, overtly feminine aspects in favor of a sleek and sophisticated look incorporating key elements requested by the chef, including a color palette that mixes crisp white, gray, and honey-stained pine and ash tones with the brand’s signature bright yellow.
Cooke drew inspiration from elements traditionally associated with American baking, such as antique pie chests, bakeware, and the graphic patterns found on a collection of cookbooks Tomason had inherited.
“I have collected and inherited a number of old cookbooks and handwritten recipes over the years,” says Tomason. “The dog ears, the smudges and stains—it all tells a story of the recipes themselves. I believe this country has a past rich in recipes that may be overlooked for fancier, more forward-thinking foods, but to me there are gems to be found in the past and reinterpreted for today.”
Paying homage to these book covers, a wood apron casing featuring a backlit, perforated, punched pie tin pattern wraps around the main wall display and ordering counter. Super-scaled hexagonal floor tiles, in place of small mosaic tiles used in more traditional bakeries, are used throughout the dining area where the walls are clad with large stacked bond gray subway tiles and glass cake domes are creative light fixtures. “If we were designing projects in the same style every time, it would get pretty monotonous,” says Cooke. “We selected our materials very carefully to push a new style of bakery.”
Tomason also requested an open kitchen and prominently placed mixing station to create an inviting and interactive environment where customers can watch the action unfurl. The display case is positioned on a linear butcher block adjacent to the point of sale counter, decked in mink marble in contrast to a more predictable white Carrara marble.
“We have customers come in and watch our bakers ice cakes every day,” Tomason says. “It’s an easy way to start a dialogue with our customers and bring joy to peoples’ lives through food. We wanted this joy to start with a sensory experience. When you step into the space, what do you smell, see, and hear? And then, what do you taste?”
