Arlee’s Raw Blends is a local company that cold-presses juices from 100% local organic produce. When the owners decided to open a retail store in downtown Princeton, they wanted a sleek and minimal design embodying the themes of home, health and community to reflect their products: healthful, with no additives, and sold in returnable glass bottles.

At the rear wall of the shop, a wood arch traces a simple symmetrical gable form to denote the most basic image of “house,” with its “front door” to the kitchen. Moving toward the entrance, three more freestanding wood arches rise and widen asymmetrically, symbolizing the community on Nassau Street and beyond.

Blending a modern aesthetic with the traditional character of this historic town, JZA+D took the idea and image of “home” as the design theme, modulating the existing high ceiling through a series of wood arches.

Patrons can sit at a custom-designed wood counter, which along with the cashier stand is created using wood from a tree felled by Superstorm Sandy. The underside of the counter top is shaped in a series of gable-like angles, reflecting the wood gable forms overhead. The flooring is porcelain tile with a swirling pattern that echoes the “coins” pattern of the end-grain featured in the furniture millwork.