An Italian cosmetics chain with 500 European stores is one of two international-themed retailers moving into a signature downtown storefront, 1 Broadway.
Paul Bass Photo
“The big reveal,” as Yale associate veep Lauren Zucker put it, came at a public announcement Thursday afternoon under a tent erected on the Broadway parking island.
She announced that Kiko Milano, an Italy-based company with more than 500 European outlets, will move into 1,300 square feet of the property, which serves as the image-setting gateway to the Yale-owned shopping district at Broadway and York Street. And Emporium DNA, a “trendy boutique” dealing in international imports, will sell “contemporary apparel” like shoes and handbags — brand names like Rebecca Minkoff, Michael Kors, G‑Star Raw, Scotch & Soda — from the corner property’s other 2,600 square feet. The store will focus on women’s fashions but sell men’s apparel as well.
1 Broadway will be the second U.S. outlet for Kiko Milano, which has more than 500 stores in Europe. Emporium DNA has four other stores, all in the U.S.
Yale’s University Properties has gradually upgraded the shopping district over the past two decades, with a mix of mid- to upscale chains like Apple and American Apparel and local stalwarts like Ashley’s Ice Cream, Blue State Coffee, and Yorkside Pizza & Restaurant. A night spot called Demery’s, then Au Bon Pain, used to occupy 1 Broadway; Yale chose last year not to renew Au Bon Pain’s lease. Then it renovated the building while looking for new tenants.
Mayor Toni Harp (pictured) hailed the announcement as evidence that New Haven can attract quality retailers.
“I’m excited about the Kiko’s price point” of $7 to $12 on average per product, Harp said. “I know I’m going to buy a lot of lipstick; it looks like they have all colors.”
Click here and here to learn more about the two stores.
Zucker (pictured) said Yale is urging the two stores to hire New Haveners, including through New Haven Works. “Strong stores,” she said, “equate to strong jobs.”
The next “big reveal” will be the announcement of the two restaurants that will occupy storefronts at the other end of Broadway: at 9 Dixwell Ave.. Yale is looking to extend its reach and upgrade property that used to house a liquor store and, back in the day, the Soundtrack Cafe. Zucker said Thursday she is in the process of finalizing leases with those tenants.
Fuss & O’Neill
Further down the proverbial road come bigger decisions about how to remake the Broadway/Elm district’s streets and traffic patterns in the New Urbanist mold, perhaps along the lines pictured above. Click here to read all about that ongoing, years-long process.
Elm Street’s Maison Mathis provided the snacks at Thursday’s “big reveal.”
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