Bolt Builds is a design, build, and fabrication firm located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Mimi's

Design + Fabrication + Construction

Size

3,220

Timeline

4 Months

Location

Union Square, New York

Services

Project Management

Interior Design

Construction Management

Lighting Design

Mimi's Froyo is a self-serve frozen yogurt concept built around a single organizing idea: every element of the space flows. Bolt Builds served as the design, build, and fabrication partner for the complete interior buildout, delivering a ground-up transformation of a narrow Manhattan storefront into one of the most spatially inventive retail interiors in the city.

The project is defined by its geometry. A barrel-vaulted ceiling structure — clad entirely in white-oak veneer panels — sweeps from entry to back wall, collapsing the boundary between ceiling, arch, and millwork into a single continuous surface. The vault is not decorative; it's structural to the spatial concept, compressing and expanding the guest experience as they move through the space. The effect is part subway tunnel, part ocean liner — intimate, directional, and unmistakably original.

At the heart of the design is a custom serpentine banquette, fabricated in-house by Bolt, that curves organically through the room. Its tufted cognac leather seating sits atop a plinth wrapped in hand-laid terracotta tile, creating a warm counterpoint to the stainless steel service counter and polished concrete floors. The counter itself — a flowing, sculptural form in brushed stainless — was custom-fabricated by Bolt to follow the curvature of the room, housing the brand's self-serve froyo machines in flush-mounted niches with custom aluminum surrounds.

A back-lit glass block feature wall at the entry anchors the lounge zone, bathing the seating area in warm amber light and reinforcing the brand's retro-modern sensibility. Translucent ceiling panels diffuse light across the vault, eliminating harsh shadow and lending the service area a soft, luminous quality that photographs beautifully and makes the space feel larger than its footprint.

Bolt managed the project through every phase — schematic design, construction documentation, NYC DOB permitting, millwork fabrication, site construction, and final installation — with a single integrated team. No handoffs. No gaps. The result is a space where every curve, every material transition, and every detail is resolved with the precision that only full-scope design-build makes possible