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Our snow-loving man about town Jared Hatch heads out in Snowpocalypse '11 to suss out which stores are still open and what's selling out.
"Chicago", "Wrigley Field" and "Lakeshore Drive" were among the ten worldwide trending topics last night on Twitter. As the snow was knocking out windows in high-rises and stranding cars for hours in the downtown snow it became apparent that Chicago's faculties were being paralyzed. Throughout the evening and into the morning we were glued to Channel 12 Chief Meteorologist, Amy Freeze, for constant updates. Yesterday afternoon, as white-out conditions were starting to be reported, we stopped at Trader Joe's on Ontario and Jewel Osco at State and Grand to see what the response would be. The usual snowpocalypse staples (wine, bread, bath tissue, Hinkley water, cat litter, more wine) were flying off the shelves and lines to checkout stretched back into the store's aisles.
This morning, walking on Oak Street, we saw many notes on the doors citing the a closure due to the snow. We expected these temporary of small business, locally owned, and specialty stores at least until traffic was opened to Lakeshore Drive, or the streets had begun to be plowed. Among some of the affected shops were Flight 001, White House Black Market, Luca Luca, Bonpoint, Omega, and The Original Pancake House. Despite many stores taking a snow day, The Greater North Michigan Avenue board President, John C. Chikow, told us that Bloomingdale's and Macy's would stay open, but trudging through the drifts we also found the unlikely suspects Marc Jacobs and Ikram were open as well.
Being a consistent superpower of good style, apparently, Ikram also believes keeping regular opening hours (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and a fully staffed store of five is a good way to provide great customer service, build, and keep her global clientele for nor rain, sleet, or snow. Acting unfazed by the Jeep outside the window spinning its tires, we ask what their secret to weathering the Chicago winter is and what they recommend for blizzard conditions. The Chanel ski goggles got a unanimous vote by the staff and a faux-hawk fur-earflapped If Six Was Nine hat along with some super warm booties. The Wheeler stuffed animals looked pretty cuddly for a cold day too.
· Ikram [Official Site]
· Record-breaking blizzard grips area [Fox12]