Luxury stores and select specialty stores are known to pop a Champagne cork or two for top-tier shoppers on occasion.
While libations can lead to more indulgent spending, Nordstrom is serving up a new spin on its cocktails-infused concept. Thanks to a hook-up with the team behind the New York Cocktail Company and the Greenwich Village café Dante, Nordstrom NYC’s men’s store has debuted a speakeasy-inspired bar in the Clubhouse. Through November, shoppers can raise a glass or two while checking out the men’s brands on the store’s second floor.
The pop-up is an extension of the Nordstrom and Dante partnership highlighted in the “Nordstrom for Everything New York” campaign, which celebrates Nordstrom as a destination for everything a New Yorker would need. Created by the New York-based agency Mojo Supermarket, the campaign was unveiled May 27. Along with Dante, the ads play up three other New York City destinations — the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem, the Upper West Side restaurant Barney Greengrass and Casa Magazines. The campaign, and the activations, are meant to not only raise awareness for these only-in-New-York businesses but also to drum up interest in the retailer’s flagship at West 57th and Broadway, which opened in October 2019.
The just-opened pop-up has been seeing a good amount of interest in NYCC’s ready-to-serve classic Negronis but browsers or buyers can also can enjoy NYCC’s Mezcalito, chocolate and espresso Negronis. There are also pick-me-ups from Dante like cheese and charcuterie boards, Marcona almonds and marinated olives. Having first welcomed diners in 1915 to its Greenwich Village eatery, Dante is a New York institution.
Linden Pride, owner of Dante and cofounder of NYCC, said via email, “For us, this was a no-brainer being that Nordstrom itself is renowned in NYC and beyond. Partnering with them to bring New York Cocktail Company and Dante to life in their store has been great and I know will be a welcome reprieve for cocktail and Negroni lovers.”
Made of equal parts gin, vermouth and Campari, the Negroni was the most-sold drink in 2022, according to Drinks International’s 2022 World’s Best-Selling Classic Cocktails list.
Reservations are not needed for the 300-square-foot New York Cocktail Company Presents Dante at Nordstrom, which is strategically located near men’s tailoring. While the sales associates may be complimentary, the Negronis are not and retail between $18 and $20. Ditto for the Dante bar snacks, which will set shoppers back anywhere from $7 to $47 depending on their hunger level.
Department stores and other retailers have been linked to libations in different ways. Even in 1920, when thousands of liquor-serving establishments closed due to Prohibition and speakeasies sprang up, major stores ran print ads in newspapers of the latest cocktail shakers and other accouterments.
