Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Great Retail Theater

Thought Henri Bendel in New York hosting cobblers from Tuccia di Capri
was great retail theater. I have never seen anything like this, and
I've shopped a lot.
Three cobblers came up from Miami to make custom sandals in the store.
Think they said it takes about 2 hours to make one. There's the
element of limited-time only (they were there just through July 11),
customization, and the storytelling aspect of telling your girlfriends
that you saw sandals being made for you right before your eyes. How
many of us can say we've seen cobblers make shoes? Not many.

Eataly is for Meat Lovers

I think Mario Batali's Eataly is probably best for meat lovers. You
see all this cured meat (assume it's all handcrafted). And there's a
huge cheese case as well.

Mario Batali's Eataly

If you are in New York and you love to eat, go visit Mario Batali's
Eataly. It is a food emporium for tourists and locals (saw a lot of
office types coming in after work). There's a seafood restaurant,
pizza, meat restaurant, a beer pavillion, wines, gelato, paninis,
Lavazza and another cafe. You could eat here for days and never repeat.