Barney's New York Opens Before It Opens

In what is probably going to be the biggest retail opening in Chicago for some time, Barney's New York's new store will open tomorrow morning, April 16, 2009.

But some shoppers have already had a chance to sample the new store.

It was all-hands-on-deck tonight for a special private shopping event for specially selected customers and V.I.P.'s.  Chances are if you're reading this, you weren't there.

We weren't invited, either.  But happened to be walking by admiring the new window displays while it was going on.

Here's some CrappyCameraPhone™ pictures to tide you over until tomorrow morning.

Bits on Barney's

Here are a few more notes about Barney's New York's move across Rush Street to its new store.

• The workers don't have to work weekends for a change as they help ferry the inventory across the street.
  
• Barney's cosmetics department is going to start carrying Bobby Brown and La Mer.  Before now those were considered "lower class" brands relegated to the likes of Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue.  If you asked for La Mer at Barney's before now (it's really fantastic on sunburns!) you would get a serious sneer, a toss of the hair, and if you're lucky the makeup maid would only walk away from you.
  
• It's unconfirmed, but we hear that Barney's has joined the ranks of most other large companies and instituted a hiring freeze.
  
• The inside of the new building's stairwell looks really cool, and there's a picture floating around the internet: http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/7065/0903130140web.jpg  You can see the Prairie School architectural homage.
  
• In case you missed it earlier, the new Barney's store opens Thursday, April 16th, 2009.

Barney's On The Move

Barney's New York was closed today for the first day of it's big move across Rush Street. The long-awaited transition cones after years of demolition, construction and preparation.

Papa Milano's Italian restaurant, a bar, a cupcake joint, a button store, and a Bang & Olufsen outlet either moved or closed to make way for the new department store.

Barney's management had long been unhappy withthe diminutive size of the previous space. Unfortunately, the upgrade cones in the midst of a bad economy where even luxury shoppers are asking shopgirls for plain brown bags to hide their consumption.

Hopefully the new store buying frenzy won't cool off too much and bring a little more life to Rush, Oak, and Walton Streets.

Tourists aren't Barney's usual customer, but these days no store is in a position to turn its nose up at a dollar. Hopefully someone will tell that to the unnecessarily snooty black-clad makeup mob that will now put the "sell" in cellar.

Barney's New York Opening Date Update

We received an e-mail from a tipster (well, actually a text message -- what's up with that?) nailing down the dates for Barney's New York's big move across Rush Street.

We're told that the current Barney's store on the corner of Oak and Rush will close Sunday, March 29th, and the new store on the corner of Rush and Oak will open Thursday, April 16th.

You'll recall that Barney's was said to have originally planned to make the transition in late March so it could be open in very early April, but was later delayed by construction .

Still, the only official date we've seen yet is "Spring," so if this second proposed set of dates doesn't work out, Barney's is still covered.

Status Update: The New Barney's New York Store

We haven't heard anything new about an opening date for the new Barney's New York Store at the intersection of Rush and Oak Streets in the Gold Coast in a while.  The last rumor we heard was "late April" and the only official word is "Spring," which can mean anything in Chicago.

But from the outside, things are pretty much done.  The signature awnings went up last week, the sidewalk has been cleared for pedestrian traffic and the windows are papered over as workers frantically try to dress the inside of the store.

Even the old Barney's location is getting into the anticipation with its main curved display window referencing events "across the street."  That curved display window has been copied in the new building, and expanded to five stories, housing a showy staircase that we can't wait to get in to catch views of the Gold Coast below.

The front of the glass cylinder has some Wrightian accents tacked on to it, as does a few other portions of the facade.  These are supposed to pay homage to Chicago's architectural heritage.  Whether they achieve that goal or not is up to your imagination.  Still, the doors of the new store have been revealed and they're quite nice.  Dark and classy, but large and inviting.

And Barney's knows it's not going to be the new kid on the block forever.  Remember that there's multi-story retail planned for the other end of the block where Gino's East used to be.  In anticipation, the Barney's building casts a blank facade in that direction with the exception of a newly added "Barney's New York" sign on the Rush Street edge that should remain visible as long as the Starbucks remains undisturbed.  And considering the time, money, and effort put into renovating that branch of the coffee chain just a couple of years ago, it's unlikely anything taller will sprout on that lot for a while.

Barney's Opening Date Rubble

As construction has progressed on the new Barney's New York store at the corner of Oak Street and Rush Street, it's been surprisingly hard to find out when the new 90,000 square-foot shopping mecca will open.

Many stores would put up big "Grand Opening" banners with dates to generate anticipation.  The best we've gotten out of Barney's is "Spring" -- and quite possibly for good reason.

As we reported a little over a month ago , the plan was to close the existing Barney's New York on March 15th and open the new store April 2nd.  That's not exactly how it's going to be.

Construction delays have Barney's pushing the whole thing back so that the new tentative opening we're hearing is "late April."

Considering that "Spring" in Chicago can mean anything from March 1 to June 30th, having a vague date on the signs makes the planners at Barney's look like the smartest kids in the class, rather than ones who blew an opening date.

+1 for foresight.

New Barney's New York New Update

We have a few more details about the April 2nd opening of the new Barney's New York store on Rush Street.

• The first floor will be all accessories, meaning scarfs, wallets, handbags, and things like that.  
• The cosmetics area which is normally on the first floor of department stores in the Midwest is going into the basement, like in Bergdorf Goodman and Barney's in New York.  "Basement" probably isn't the best word to describe it.  It's actually an inviting, light, airy space that just happens to be subterranean.  
• Chelsea Passage is getting smaller and will share the top floor with Fred's, the new restaurant (Get it?  Fred's at Barney's?). 
  

Barney's New York Closing and New Store Opening Dates

For those of you wondering about Barney's New York's big move across the street, we're finally hearing some firm dates.

Latest word is that the current Barney's New York store will close March 15, 2009.  The inventory will be moved across the street and the brand spanking new store will open April 2, 2009.

Considering the state of the economy, this is likely to be the largest and most interesting retail opening we see in Chicago for the next few years.  Moreover, the new store will draw in a lot of high-end tourists who want to see what it's like, so that will be a nice little extra boost for the area.

As for the old Barney's store... We still haven't heard anything.  Have you?

New Barney's Building Open For Business, But Not Barney's

The first business has opened in the new Barney's New York building on the corner of Oak Street and State Street.  But it's not Barney's that's open -- it's Citibank.

The bank moved from its old digs next to the Esquire Theater on Oak Street on January 15th, and opened its doors in the new location on the 20th.  The lobby has that new bank smell, but the bank as a whole is much smaller than the old location.

It's nice to see an oft-overlooked segment of North State Street getting some attention, but to tell the truth we're worried about the future of Oak Street with festering cavity that is the Esquire becoming a polyp on the retail scene there.  But then again, we should just have faith that something will happen with the property eventually.  After all, a watched boil never pops.

Status Update: Barney's New Store Puts Its Best Face Forward

There's little sign of an economic slow down at the corner of Rush and Oak Streets these days.  Barney's New York is rushing forward with its planned opening of its new store across the street from the existing store.  Last week the massive "Spring!" banner went up over what is a very interesting glass-enclosed stairwell.  The top floor of the corner has been cut-out for what we hope is an outdoor dining option for the top story restaurant (called "Fred's").  The scaffolding is gone, and we hope this will do great things for the neighborhood.  But we, like many others, are left scratching our collective heads and wondering what will become of the old Barney's store.  It's too big for boutiques, and too small for a big name.  Cut it up?  Tear it down?  What do you think would work there?

New Barney's building to open in January

While we're still in mourning over the loss of Papa Milano's, it's worth noting that its replacement is getting ready to open for business.

The new Barney's New York building bounded by Rush, Oak, State, and Walton streets is complete on the exterior, with the exception of the first-floor facade and sidewalks.  But around the corner on the State Street side, things are moving more quickly.

Citibank will relocate its Oak Street branch to the new building in January.  The Oak Street bank inside the historic (yet rat-infested) Esquire Theater will close on January 15 and re-open in the Barney's building on the 20th.

Does this mean things will move forward with the redevelopment of the Esquire?  Who can say.  So far, any development large enough to be economically viable has been shot down.  Hopefully some compromise will be reached before the building deteriorates enough that it needs to be torn down.