A Floor Plan for Fresh Food Vending – 

Mike Swanson, owner of AtlantisValley Foods, came to us with many years of experience in food service vending and an idea for a fresh, techie twist on a solid business model. Wanting to put a healthy new spin on grab-and-go food, Mike looked for a way to incorporate fresh foods into the choices busy people have. He planned to supplement traditional vending machines with a kiosk-based technology where all purchase data is relayed electronically to the base of operations. The operation had to move smoothly and quickly to maintain the integrity of the fresh product. His expanded business plan required a new facility with a larger kitchen, more capacity for trucks and office space.

Creating an optimal floor plan started with understanding their operations: the storage and sorting of traditional products such as beverages, chips and candy bars, and then the ingredient sourcing, preparation and storage of fresh foods. Next came floor and site plan design of a flow-through truck bay system for daily distribution of product. On top of that were varied criteria for air temperature and quality in the office, kitchen, order-filling areas and truck bays. We added in gas, electric and plumbing requirements and, finally, defined options for future expansion of both kitchen and truck bay areas.

One specific client directive that we took very seriously was to minimize roof penetrations.  In his previous buildings, Mike struggled with roof leaks and absolutely did not want to deal with that again. After comparing a variety of different HVAC systems, we proposed one that could be placed on a mezzanine inside the building instead of on the roof. Venting was accomplished through wall, rather than roof, penetrations.

Finally, no downtime was one of the biggest challenges. Though AtlantisValley Foods was established in vending and catering, moving to a new building and incorporating complex operational changes required highly detailed planning on the part of both Mike’s staff and Iconica. Our marching orders were to help ensure continuous operation while transitioning from the previous location to the new one we were building. When the project kicked off, AtlantisValley Foods was in the heat of battle— the busiest season for corporate events, the holiday season. They were preparing dishes for 1,000+ person events. We carefully scheduled the staggered move and installation of existing equipment, along with purchase of new pieces to make a smooth transition.

Iconica is grateful for the opportunity to provide service to AtlantisValley Foods. We work very hard to clearly identify our clients’ priorities and to address them in every aspect of our projects. We are especially happy to hear Mike Swanson’s ultimate compliment:  “We had a great working relationship with Iconica. It was very smooth and came off in the end.  I would recommend Iconica, and I would do it again— absolutely.”