% Arabica launches futuristic new concept store in Abu Dhabi

Something new is brewing in Marina Mall…

Have you ever thought, whilst sipping on your fresh barista-served coffee, ‘well this is nice, but I’d prefer it was happening inside the hab zone of a Martian satellite’… We’ve got some news for you.

It’s not space croissants, but @Elon please do get on that when you have a chance. It’s this absolutely stunning bit of minimalist design that constitutes coffee artisans, % Arabica’s new concept store.

Found in Abu Dhabi’s Marina Mall (a handy in-mall map to which is found below), the unique space features “a flexible and expandable” pod for brewing and serving pots of their acclaimed Joe; a retail wall giving coffee connoisseurs access to % merch such as backpacks, beans and brewing gadgets; and typewriter key style seating, which presumably performs that Scandanavian furniture miracle of looking uncomfortable but ending up actually being super snug.

% Gains

Looking closer, the design has some pretty clever little details. The idea for the store came from a creative team that included the brand’s founder, Kenneth Shoji and award-winning architect, Christ Precht.

The % logo is rendered multiple times throughout the space. For example the semi-circle doors on the % Pod rotate to their locked position which is a minimal interpretation of the logo, the peaking window representing a subtle slash.

The column at the store’s peripheree represents a slash between the two serving windows when viewed from a certain angle, and the pipes overhead could also be interperated as further slashes.

% Arabica at Marina Mall is now open and is serving up esspresso based coffee varieties from Dhs17.

Ground floor Marina Mall, daily 8am to midnight. Tel: (02) 546 0015, arabicacoffee.ae