Macy’s Introduces New Upscale Restaurant

US department store Macy’s is boosting its sophistication quotient with the opening of an upscale new restaurant – Stella 34 Trattoria – inside its Herald Square store in New York City. The luxurious 260-seat Italian restaurant, which opened in early March 2013, forms part of a $400m renovation to Macy’s flagship store.

Aiming to generate the requisite credibility as a bona fide culinary hotspot, its location on the sixth floor has asserted some independence from the store. A private elevator accessed via a separate entrance on 35th and Broadway, and opening times that extend way past standard shopping hours, have also added to the buzz.

Designed to service both New York’s on-the-go army, as well as those looking to linger a little longer in the store, the 10,000 sq ft space includes a takeaway counter for drop-ins, as well as a lounge, Prosecco bar and the first-ever US outpost of Vivoli, a celebrated gelateria in Florence, Italy.

The combined allure of food and fashion – frequently pitched as twin passions – is continuing to emerge as a trend. Harrods’ food-centric Style to Savour advertising campaign (see Food Meets Fashion in Harrods’ Digital Campaign) in London last autumn followed the surge of fashion and food photography on the blogosphere discussed in Fashion Eats: Food and Fashion.

Macy’s Stella 34 Trattoria also illustrates retail’s broader shift towards leisure-focused destinations, where socialisation meets shopping. Stylus investigates the department stores and key strategies that are leading the field in Redefining the Department Store: Store Concepts.

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Macys