March 09, 2006
Old Orchard Expansion Plans Downsized
Remember that big expansion plan leaked by Westfield last June regarding Old Orchard's future? At the core of that idea was tearing down both the Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor anchor buildings and replacing them with space for smaller shops. It was going to be the catalyst for rebranding Old Orchard as a "lifestyle center."
Apparently, those grand plans have been downsized greatly, much to the dismay of myself. According to the Chicago Tribune, Skokie (the village where Old Orchard is based) just approved a much smaller plan:
Skokie OKs mall changesSource: Chicago Tribune
March 9, 2006
Tribune staff, wire reportsThe Skokie Village Board has approved changes to the Old Orchard shopping center that are far less ambitious than the plans floated last year by the mall's Australian owner, Westfield Group. As part of a redevelopment of the former Saks Fifth Avenue store, the existing 104,000-square-foot structure would be replaced with a 64,000-square-foot building for smaller specialty stores and restaurants, according to a village report released this week. The plans would affect Steve & Barry's University Sportswear, which took over the Saks store last year. A representative of the inexpensive apparel retailer, which sells jeans, jackets and licensed college goods, declined to comment. Construction is expected to begin this summer. In June Westfield considered adding as much as 300,000 square feet of space to the well-known center. A representative could not be reached for comment.
Posted by Tannerman at 10:33 AM
December 14, 2005
Coming Soon: Max's Opera Cafe
The Houlihan's restaurant has closed next to The Orchard Food Court. I remember eating there one or two times. For some reason, all I can remember is that they only served whole milk. What the heck was up with that? In any case, construction baracades are now up promoting Max's Opera Cafe of Skokie. This appears to be a chain out of California. According to the locations on their website, looks like Old Orchard might be one of their first non-West Coast locations.
The description from the website is as follows:
Towering deli sandwiches, gigantic salads and entree specialties plus decadent fresh-baked breads and award-winning desserts have been signature items of family-owned Max's Restaurants since 1978 with the opening of Max's Son in Daly City. Dennis Berkowitz, owner of Max's, named the restaurant in honor of his father. Max's sang a new tune in 1982 with the opening of Max's Opera Cafe in San Francisco, where the customer is entertained by servers singing opera and show tunes. Max's Diner, opening in 1985, took us back to the '50's and '60's "counter culture". Twenty-five years later, Max's uncompromising standards protecting the customer's right to a great meal have remained and fans continue to keep Max's Restaurants cooking round-the-clock.Looks like it could be fun dining experience with all that singing! Slated to open in "Spring 2006".
Posted by Tannerman at 08:58 PM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2005
Coming Soon: Sony Style
So now that Disney Store is being relocated into the old space from The Bombay Company, what's moving into the old Disney Store space? How about a Sony Style store! Think Apple Store, but not as cool or hip. C'mon, when was the last time the Walkman had a chance against the iPod? Anyway, official opening date is "Fall 2005."
Posted by Tannerman at 09:05 AM
Relocation: More on Disney Store
As mentioned back in July, Disney Store is moving from Pear Lane over to the old space from The Bombay Company in The Park. Construction walls are now up, and frankly, are decorated quite poorly.
I think the downgrade in quality can probably be associated with the new ownership of Disney Store, which happens to be the folks over at The Children's Place. (As of August 27, 2005, they owned and operated 771 The Children's Place stores and 309 Disney Stores in North America.) Yup, it's another thing we can thank Michael Ei$ner for! Also, for the record, the official name is "Disney Store", not "The Disney Store". That change was made a few years ago when the franchise tried to become more "hip". Whatever.
Posted by Tannerman at 08:51 AM
Coming Soon: Oil & Vinegar
Looks like we are getting an Oil & Vinegar store at Old Orchard soon, located in the previous Crabtree & Evelyn space over in the Fountain Court (Crabtree moved to a new location in The Park). What is Oil & Vinegar? According to their website, they are "tasteful gift shops where you will find all sorts of splendid culinary gifts from all four corners of the world. Different types of olive oils and vinegar, together with a whole host of articles associated with gourmet eating and attractive tables." Yeah, sounds just like the perfect, over-priced, yuppie store that would do well at Old Orchard! Expected opening: November 16.
Posted by Tannerman at 08:39 AM
July 21, 2005
Work continues on Forth & Towne
They're still hard at work on the new Forth & Towne location down by The Promenade. The other day we noticed that the windows found in the clock tower weren't covered, showing HVAC equipment. We don't know if this is part of the Forth & Towne space or not. It's still not certain if the new Gap-owned chain will use both floors of the previous Z Gallerie space. There is visible work happening on the 2nd level. 1st level construction is hidden by construction walls.
Posted by Tannerman at 02:26 PM
Gloria Jeans out; Ethel's in
Over the years, one of our favorite places to visit while at Old Orchard was Gloria Jeans, located on Pear Lane. Now, I don't drink coffee, but my wife does, and compared to the other coffee offerings at the mall (mainly Starbucks), Gloria Jeans was the better option. I did get my fair share of steamed milk items, however.
Unfortunately, like many other retailers, Gloria Jeans pulled out of Old Orchard after their 10 year lease was up, resulting in the store closing a few months ago. We were saddened by this. Soon construction walls went up around the space with no mention of what was on the drawing board.
However, it appears a replacement is now in sight. We're getting an Ethel's Chocolate Lounge at Old Orchard! What's this all about? I'll let the Wall Street Journal explain this new concept owned by Mars, Inc.:A place for cocoa nuts: Mars opens chocolate cafe
By the end of the summer, Mars expects to have 6 locations open in the Chicago area, including the one at Old Orchard (slated for an August opening).
Friday, July 15, 2005
By Amy Chozick, The Wall Street Journal
At Ethel's Chocolate Lounge... couples and families relax on plush pastel-colored furniture, eating champagne chocolates and sipping mocha drinks. Behind a glass pane, espresso, pina colada and honey-flavored truffles sell for about $42 a pound. A sign reads "Chocolate is the New Black."
More precisely, Mars Inc., the closely held candy giant behind Ethel's (named after the late matriarch of Mars), is betting that chocolate is the new coffee. Decorated with pink-and-brown striped wallpaper and whimsical lighting, the new chain is Mars's attempt to make lingering over a plate of premium chocolates in a cafe space as mainstream as drinking a morning latte at Starbucks. For a company best known for making mass-market products like Twix and Snickers bars, this means transforming a lowly commodity into a high-price luxury.
...The $14.5 billion U.S. chocolate industry could use a shot of espresso. Dominated by decades-old products like Hershey bars and M&M's, the industry has posted annual sales increases of less than 3 percent from 2002 to 2004, reports the National Confectioners Association, an industry trade group. Meanwhile, sales at upscale coffee and cocoa stores (a category that includes Godiva as well as sit-down spots like Starbucks) rose 20.6 percent in the same period.
...The chocolate lounge dates back to 17th-century London, about a century after cocoa was brought to Europe from Latin America. Designed or the elite, European chocolate houses offered comfortable seating where the upper crust could socialize while drinking hot chocolate. Today, chocolate is still consumed in Europe more regularly than it is in the U.S., where consumers and manufactures have a more populist approach to it.
Old Orchard already has an upscale chocolate store (Godiva), but it's not really built for lounging. It should be interesting to see how this battle for overpriced chocolate plays out. If they have a good hot chocolate, I may check them out come this fall!
Posted by Tannerman at 12:04 PM
June 29, 2005
Coming Soon: Sisley
According to their website (which is rather risqué), "Sisley features men and women's collections whose basic objective is to be always on the same wavelength as those who follow fashion and keep themselves abreast of the trendiest tendencies. The collections, in fact, include sporty and casual wear, formal and elegant dresses - therefore an all-round offering for every moment of the day and for various needs."
Um, OK. They are owned by the Benetton Group (you know, the United Colors of Benetton folks) and are "the Group's most trend-setting brand, at the forefront of fashion." As Old Orchard already has a United Colors of Benetton store (located on Pear Lane), Sisley makes sense as a new addition. Look for it soon down in The Garden.
Posted by Tannerman at 05:22 PM
Coming Soon: Misako
Misako is a Spanish retailer that specializes in "affordable chic" cloth handbags selling for around $32 each, regardless of size or style. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, "Misako's selection of handbags, which make up 85 percent of the merchandise, will change rapidly as new collections rotate into the shops, generating repeat visits."
You'll be able to check this place out for yourself once it opens in The Park section of Old Orchard. This seems like the second "value" addition in recent months to Old Orchard's retail mix (the other being costume jewelry store Landau). I wonder if this is a strategic move by Westfield or just a situation where they are just glad to have a paying tenant! Oddly, Misako doesn't have a website.
Posted by Tannerman at 05:06 PM
From one snooty jewerly store to another
Over in The Park section of Old Orchard, we've recently seen the exit of jewelers Christian Bernard, which had a prominent corner location on the edge of The Park and Hawthorne Way. I remember when my wife and I were shopping for wedding rings, we stopped into this store and did not have a good experience at all. So I don't shed any tears.
However, it appears that we're getting another jeweler in the same space. This time around it's Helzberg Diamonds (formerly known by the more tacky "Jewerly3" name). Oh joy. We also stopped at one of these stores in search of wedding rings. They tried to amaze us with this one diamond by taking us into the "steaming room" to see how reflective it was once it was steam cleaned. And they gave us free coffee. But beyond that, it was a joke. We ended up buying our rings at a local jeweler and have been very happy ever since.
Anyway, like Rogers & Hollands when it was under construction, Helzberg Diamonds has artwork on their construction barricades that tries to tie together the concept of "jewelry" and "carpentry". Yeah, I don't get it either, but it's a cute attempt nevertheless.
Posted by Tannerman at 04:56 PM
Coming Soon: Foot Locker
With the exit of Record Town/Sunday Matinee in The Vineyard, their space was divided into two smaller stores. The Old Orchard Observer has already covered the first tenant in the western half of the space (PacSun's new location).
We're proud to announce that the eastern half of the space will be occupied by Foot Locker. This is an interesting move, as the mall just saw the exit of Lady Foot Locker and soon will see the entrance of NikeWoman. There is already a Finish Line store located on the other side of the mall. The new Foot Locker will be situated near Theaters 7-12, Maggiano's Little Italy, and Barnes & Noble. Interesting neighbors, to say the least. Perhaps they are hoping for the youth traffic spurred by the movie theater.
Posted by Tannerman at 04:42 PM
Forth & Towne coming to Old Orchard
Back in May, we at the Observer discussed the possibility of Old Orchard being a test site for one of Gap's new store concepts, Forth & Towne. Well guess what? We were right!
A few months ago, Z Gallerie vacated their two-story store located in The Promenade, right next to the soon-to-be-closed Saks Fifth Avenue. Shortly thereafter, construction walls went up, but no mention was made regarding a replacement. We speculated regarding what would replace this store and whether or not it would take up all the square footage on both floors or if it would be subdivided.
Not too long after, a listing on HotJobs.com [thanks Chicagoist!] revealed that the four locations slated for Illinois were Old Orchard, Woodfield (Schaumburg, IL), Fox Valley (Aurora, IL -- and another Westfield zombie), and Algonquin Commons (Algonquin, IL).
We then saw officially labeling on the walls at Old Orchard, formally announcing that Forth & Towne would be arriving in the fall. What's interesting is that Gap still hasn't launched a website destination for this new concept (however they have reserved "forthandtowne.com", so I guess that will be coming soon).
What remains to be seen is whether Forth & Towne will occupy both floors of the old Z Gallerie space. It does appear that they are doing demolition/construction work to both parts at the same time, so my gut is yes. Keep it tuned right here on the Old Orchard Observer for future developments!
Posted by Tannerman at 03:49 PM