Zija, an hommage at the centerstage of the coffee shop experience & brand
BRAND STRATEGY & POSITIONING | HOSPITALITY CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT | SERVICE & EXPERIENCE DEVELOPMENT
The Project Goal
The owner/investor is transforming a space in a 1938 family building into Zija, a café where art, history, and intimate personal stories meet. Unlike typical cafés, Zija is not driven by coffee trends or commercial intent, but by an homage to people, place, and heritage.
The goal of the project is to develop the frame narrative, the underlying story of the cafe that would inform the entire experience and would be conveyed by interior design, guest experience, brand development & communication and service.
Client: Luka Suhadolnik. Architecture & visualizations: Pintart (pintart.si)The Approach
By using the tried & tested service design methodology and apply it mindfully to hospitality, we were able to create a consistent and encompassing experience, while informing all key elements:
the overall story & value proposition,
zoning & interior design,
customer segmentation & engagement loops,
brand positioning, identity & communication,
product & service offering,
the cafe experience principles,
cafe staff requirements,
and other aspects of the experience.
The Outcome
The café now has a complete concept to build against: a single frame narrative — Zija as a platform for storytelling — translated into every layer of the experience. The name, taken from the owner's great-grandmother who built the house in 1938, is joined by a layered story system that lets guests go as deep as they choose, six experience principles, five functional zones serving four distinct guest flows, a food, beverage and curated retail offering scoped to the space, service patterns for every recurring moment from greeting to goodbye, staff requirements and four communication pillars.
Because every element answers to the same story, the owner could brief architects, suppliers and future staff from one source, and the experience holds whether a guest comes only for a coffee or stays for everything behind it.
