Byline: BOB NIEDT RETAIL NOTEBOOK
It's time for Eastern Mountain Sports to take a hike.
EMS moves from foo-foo to the front of the mall. That's Carousel Center mall.
What gives? You know. The Sports Authority is coming to Carousel and pieces of the evolving puzzle puts EMS at the main entrance to the mall, in the spot where Charney's hovered for so long (Charney's moved to COR Center in Clay).
EMS makes the move from its outpost by Lord & Taylor on July 4, after the mall closes. They'll reopen in their new digs around July 8.
It's a whole new look for EMS and you can sort of get a peek at it now. They're calling it the 'garage look,' with a stained-concrete floor and open ceilings.
They're also hard at work on The Sports Authority, which still could open as early as August. On Thursday, they were doing some exterior work.
Sports Authority needed the EMS space so it could have a mall entrance to the store, which is taking up a bunch of the former Ames department store slot.
I'm thinking it's a pretty good deal for EMS, too, moving up there to the main entrance, the lake side of the mall.
Party at Ichiban
Thirtieth anniversary? Check. Party shirt on? Check. Car pointed toward Liverpool? Check. Lucky Chopsticks? Check and check.
So here we go with the 30th anniversary celebration of Ichiban Japanese Steak House, the venerable restaurant at 302 Old Liverpool Road.
Has it been here that long? You bet.
Ichiban's Chiyeko Ogata tells us the dining spot first appeared June 13, 1975. We won't tell you where we were on that same date. It's scary.
We're past June 13, but worry not. Ichiban is partying.
The celebration runs from July 1 to July 16. Diners land prizes through the aforementioned Lucky Chopsticks. They point to free stuff including T-shirts, gift certificates, drinks or a sake set.
'This is our thank-you to all the customers in Central New York,' Chiyeko said.
Express checkout
E-mail, short stuff and assorted items:
E-mail, squared. First, from Joe Todisco: 'When is the grand opening of Boom Boom on Howlett Hill Road planned?'
Second, from Bill Purdy, asking the same and adding: 'The Boom Boom restaurant at the state Fair has always been one of my favorite places to eat out there. I was surprised that the owners were local. I thought maybe that they traveled with the Fair.'
Boom Boom Mex Mex is the name of the new local restaurant. The latest I have is a June opening. It's still June, but waning. And Bill? I've gone into the Fair just to eat at Boom Boom.
FYI, the trade group International Council of Shopping Centers just announced their 2005 Hot Retailer Awards. Among the five, four operate in Central New York, three of them at Carousel Center, including Williams-Sonoma, Apple and the new Coach store. The fourth of the five is Steve & Barry's University Sportswear, which is at Fingerlakes Mall near Auburn. The fifth hottie is White House/Black Market, the sizzling new fashions-in-black-and-white-only offshoot of Chico's***which is also in our market.
We don't have it all. But we have a lot of what's hot and that's got to count for something.
The creator of the jungle-theme Rainforest Cafe chain of eatertainment restaurants is at it again. Steve Schussler is building his first T-Rex restaurant, an evolving chain that has at its center a life-size Tyrannosaurus and a dinosaur theme. The first opens in January in Kansas City. One is planned for Niagara Falls, to open in 2007.
E-mail, from Sakari: 'Do you have any idea when Syracuse will get their first Sephora store? I order from them often online and go crazy when I am in the NYC or Virginia area and see a Sephora store. Wouldn't Armory Square and Carousel mall be a perfect area for Sephora?'
Sakari, if you happened to be in New York City's Union Square Wednesday, you could have attended the grand opening of the latest Sephora store, a 5,800-square-foot boutique featuring cosmetics, skin care, and bath and body products. It has the first Hair Style Bar, where shoppers can try out salon-style hair dryers. Sephora's smorgasbord approach encourages shoppers to try before they buy.
So what about Syracuse? Armory Square and Carousel are perfect for this high-end beauty supply retailer and Carousel has been focusing intently on the high end.
Howdy, campers! One of you yelled across the street to me and asked when the Eureka! Camping Center, in Binghamton, has that big sale. March! I yelled back. It really is in March but I could have meant march as in 'march on back home and stop bothering me.' Kidding. But there is another major sale at Eureka. It's the big July 4 sale. It starts Saturday and lasts a week.
Store Front also runs Sunday and Wednesday in The Post-Standard. Contact Bob Niedt at bniedt@syracuse.com or 470-2264.
