Compartés Retail Store, Dubai

Compartés, California’s trendiest artisanal chocolate, opened a small but indulgent pop-in shop in Dubai Mall located within multi-brand store American Rag Cie. As the brand’s first outpost in the Middle East, it makes a statement as it introduces to the region a range of epicurean flavors endorsed by Hollywood A-Listers.

Award-winning, multi-disciplinary practice, Nakkash Design Studio is the brain behind the design of this striking shop-in-shop. Despite its small footprint, the concept-driven approach conveys a lot about the brand’s history and heritage entrenched in the Los Angeles of the 1950s.

The company that introduced cycling-themed urban barbershop and specialty coffee house PDL, is the driving force behind Compartés in the UAE. The shop-in-shop format is a deliberate strategy to test the market’s appetite for this gourmet chocolate concept before investing in a stand-alone. Having successfully worked with Nakkash Design Studio for the interiors of PDL in 2021, it was a natural choice for the client to approach the practice to design something exceptional for Compartés that would tell the brand story within the brevity of space.

Following the brief in November 2022, Nakkash Design Studio responded with a ‘Retro-Futuristic’ concept, blending Los Angeles’s Art Deco glam of the 1950s with futuristic design elements inspired from the brand’s artistic packaging so celebrated, that it finds a place in the Smithsonian Museum in D.C.

In January 2023, the concept was presented to the owner and lead chocolatier of Compartés, Jonathan Grahm, famously nicknamed “Chocolate boy” for taking on the reins of the company in his 20s, transforming what was an “old-school” candy shop into one infused with artistic vision., pushing it beyond confections into the worlds of art, fashion and entertainment.

Compartés sits adjoining PDL at American Rag Cie. Gourmet chocolate and specialty coffee perfectly complementing each other not just as a gustatory experience, but also in terms of how the spaces sit in conversation with each other.

Entry into PDL is channeled through the singular most outstanding architectural feature of the Compartés shop-in-shop: a soaring 6-metre partition that functions as a portal and an aesthetically functional back wall. The design of this feature emerged from the fusion of two inspirations. A case of LA’s definitive art deco constructions like the Eastern Columbia Building meeting the brand’s vibrant and graphically rich packaging, at once nostalgic and futuristic. Its towering nature takes advantage of the generous ceiling height and abundance of natural light pouring in from a skylight above.

The visual language of Art Deco is evident in its zigzag profile, sleek aerodynamic arches and brass graphics that embellish the panels.

Fabricated in acrylic to enhance the translucency of the retro color gradient, the 3-d wall offers dynamically changing views as visitors walk past it, through it or view it from behind as they enjoy a cup of coffee at PDL.

Triangular brass shelving cleverly incorporated into the negative spaces of the back wall proudly display an array of inventive flavors available as bars, truffles and limited editions, all meticulously handcrafted in the brand’s state-of-the-art chocolate kitchen in LA. Colorfully painted mobile display units enable flexibility in arrangement as they showcase more of the company’s range of edible art, some even displayed in glass cloche domes to signifying its status.

From design to build, the project was delivered within a remarkable turnaround of 90 days, setting aside the delays owing to paperwork. It pays trendy homage to a brand that has garnered a cult following for going beyond confection into the worlds of art, fashion and entertainment. As inimitable as Compartés, it is also the only one in the world.