PROFI Ice Store – the world`s first retail store made of ice

Are they really serving the sparkling wine in glasses made of ice? Why, yes, but then what can you expect when PROFI Ice Store, the unit inaugurated in Bucharest the 200th in the network, is the world’s first modern retail store made of ice? It is also one of the four PROFI stores inaugurated in Romania this week.

“The time for presents and celebration has come,” said PROFI Director General Pawel Musial. ”We thought we could offer the people a special Christmas present, easy to notice and enjoy,” he said with a smile. “We also wanted to produce one more piece of evidence that PROFI is constantly innovating for the benefit of its buyers.”

Some 80 tons of transparent ice were crafted together to become the walls and shelves of a 150 sq.m. store operated at the heart of this Eastern European country’s capital, between St.Nicholas and Father Christmas day.  Romanian supplies of crystal-clear ice are certainly not enough, and although production for this project started as early as July, a considerable amount of the material still had to be imported from Poland to complete the job.

The project enjoyed the support of the Polish Embassy to Romania and of the Mayor of Bucharest.

“We are eager to support daring ideas and PROFI Ice Store is certainly just that!”, said His Excellency Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Poland to Romania, Marek Szczygieł.

To keep the store in mint condition for the duration of the project, a temperature of 5C below the freezing point will be maintained, and the more than 500 products on sale were carefully selected and will be rotated to be stay in the proper shape at such low temperatures.

Ice Events is the Cluj-based company that built the ice structure; the same company provided the ice furniture for the already famous Ice Hotel at Balea lac.

PROFI Ice Store is located in the George Enescu square, close to the Romanian Athenaeum, the Hilton Hotel and the Central University Library of Bucharest.