Blue Goose Super Market - St. Charles, IL

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The grounds-up design and construction of the new Blue Goose Super Market in St. Charles, IL is the perfect marriage of traditional styling and modern innovation.  The store, relocated just a short distance from its previous riverfront location, comes in at 30,000 square feet.  Designed with current customers and the newly developed downtown business/residential district in mind, Blue Goose emphasizes old-fashioned service, high quality perishables, prepared meals (including a broad assortment of fresh sushi) and a customer experience second to none in Kane County.

The store's unique blueprint took a page from the old Blue Goose by incorporating some of the old building's distinct design features.  "The tower's sloped rooflines and arched entries were inspired by the old location's original design," said Mike Klein, Store Design Services lead architect.  "The entire design, from the tremendous amount of daylighting and the exposed roof to the blue standing seam metal roofing on the towers and the canopy was designed to give the store a spacious, airy feeling."

Customer response has been tremendous, eclipsing weekly revenue from the old store by over 25%. It's proof that updating an established supermarket (in this case, even moving it few blocks) can not only strengthen shopper loyalty, but draw in new customers as well.

The interior of the store recalls the historic period when the St. Charles downtown district began to boom in the 1920's and 30's. According to Store Design Services Creative Design Supervisor Harry Steen, "The art deco look is being revitalized on the riverfront, and our aim was to make the store fit into this environment." Vintage tin ceiling panels, a rich dyed concrete floor and old black-and-white photos of the original store were all incorporated into the design strategy.

While The Blue Goose Market features plenty of vintage design elements, the lighting is unmistakably modern. Rows of large windows let in plenty of natural light, and high-contrast spot lighting in various departments was installed to invoke drama in the food presentation.