Nisqually Markets

The Nisqually Markets brand serves South Puget Sound with multiple locations and includes fueling, convenience products, tobacco, and espresso sales. Helix Design Group worked with the Nisqually Tribe to develop design standards and worked on their locations to make them consistent. Exterior materials were chosen based on brand standards and include heavy timber, wood, stone, and metal finishes. Each site plan was designed with customer convenience, staff visibility, and traffic flow in mind.

The 10,000 SF facility located across from the Red Wind Casino in Yelm was a part of a multi-phased, mixed-use project. Future phases will
include additional retail and office uses, connected by a signature lobby. The market is fully visible from Yelm Highway and allows for easy access by motorists. The interior utilizes a distinctive palette of tribal cues, including historical photography, and patterns. The design of this facility included architecture, interior design, environmental graphic design, lighting and furniture, fixtures, and equipment selections.

The Nisqually Market in Lakewood involved converting a 2,500 SF abandoned gas station and convenience store to the new Nisqually Market image and standards. The existing fuel island was re-oriented and a canopy in a lodge style was added to match the convenience store building.

The design goal of the 838 SF smoke shop and espresso drive-thru located in Olympia for the Nisqually Indian Tribe was to maximize visual presence from I-5 while presenting the “Nisqually Express” branding image.  The site is designed to accommodate significant pedestrian and vehicle traffic for tobacco and espresso sales. An efficient layout of the small space was key in the design to hold and organize a large stock of tobacco products for quick access by personnel. Another focus was vehicle queuing and organizing traffic flow on the less than ½ acre site.