With the holiday season approaching, a new wave of shops are opening soon. Among the biggest news is that 50 new shops and restaurants will open by mid-December at the MSP Airport’s Terminal 1, particularly in its central Airport Mall area near F Concourse. They include St. Paul lingerie shop Flirt Boutique, which sells hard-to-find, luxury undergarments by European and American designers. Owner Jessica Gerard says that Flirt secured the coveted spot as part of a batch of retailers, which won its pitch to the airport a year ago. Gerard says that the store will be about the same size as Flirt’s St. Paul location—about 500 square feet—and will feature the same brands, such as Italian line La Perla, French labels Lise Charmel and Maison Close, and sexy British brand L’Agent by Agent Provocateur. She also plans to test out a small men’s section featuring t-shirts and underwear at the new store, and will launch an e-commerce site “in the very near future.”
Additional stores opening soon at the Airport Mall include Adventure North, which sells outdoor gear and apparel; Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory; Adrenaline, an athletic apparel store; Frivolous, a gift store; Kiehl’s skincare store; and an Open Book bookstore from the Loft Literary Center. Inspired Life + Art, a retail gallery featuring fine art, pottery, and jewelry, will also open at Concourse C. See the full list at reimaginemsp.com/shop-and-relax.
In other local shopping news, Northeast’s quirky-cool, Minnesota-centric gift store, i like you, will get a second location in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood. Opening next weekend, i like you too will be about half the size as the original storefront. Owners Sarah Sweet and Angela Lessman are bringing over plenty of favorites from the Northeast store, plus some new products, such as Fringe & Fettle Ceramics and knit animal hats for kids and babies by Little Wren Creations. Accordingly, the merchandise will have an emphasis on St. Paul, including a new t-shirt that reads “Keep St. Paul Boring,” St. Paul wood banners by Pink Linen Designs, handmade soaps by St. Paul Suds Company (a spin-off of Mill City Soaps), and upcycled utility bags featuring street maps of St. Paul neighborhoods. The store, located at 416 Snelling Avenue South, celebrates its grand opening on Saturday, November 12 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
High-design home store Pharmacie is ringing in its third year of business with an expansion into clothing. It’s no surprise coming from its stylish proprietors, Roger Barrett and Sam Beberg. For now, the selection is focused on streetwear—graphic tees, sweatshirts, jackets, and a few button-up shirts—for men (though Barrett says that plenty of women are buying, too). Brands include L.A.’s Altru, South Korea’s Tee Library, and Santa Cruz skate-surfwear brand Thieves, and a collaboration with local brand Sota Clothing is in the works. While the selection is relatively small at the moment, they plan to add more this coming spring. Shop the collection in store and online at pharmaciempls.com. Mark your calendars for the store’s three-year anniversary party on November 10.
Finally, word on the street is that Sarah Dwyer—co-owner of designer clothing boutique Arrow, which closed earlier this year—is returning with a new retail concept. Dwyer would only confirm that the store won’t sell clothing, and that she’ll have a new business partner, former Arrow associate Chris Drees (the guy behind Arrow’s fantastic window displays).
