Pulling the Plug in Dallas

For many of us in retail circles, the news that Neiman Marcus is closing its downtown Dallas flagship came as a bit of a shock – but not a huge one. After a tango that lasted several years, late last year that famed luxury department store became part of HBC, the iconic Canadian retailer, under the umbrella of its newly formed Saks Global unit.

And so, as has happened with so many other downtown locales operated by so many other retailers, the NM store is headed for closure – along with its nearby headquarters operation. A lease dispute is the cause, Saks says.

But for Dallas, the closure represents the end of an era, as reflected in the post-mortems that have appeared in The Dallas Morning News and D Magazine.

In the Morning News, Architecture Critic Mark Lamster wrote, “I don’t know if there is a building in Dallas that has meant more to more people… Neiman’s has long been the lodestar of a city bent on consumption and dreams of glamour.”

In an editorial bemoaning the store’s closure, the newspaper wrote, “For those of us who love this city and its history — even those of us who only window-shopped or stopped inside for the occasional cup of hot broth and bite of lunch — this is a painful reckoning that a part of who we are is going away.”

D writer Nancy Nichols lamented the upcoming loss of the store’s in-house Zodiac Room (the source of the hot broth ad lunch mentioned by the editorial.) At that 71-year-old lunch spot on the seventh floor, “each meal starts with a demitasse cup of chicken consommé and complimentary popovers with strawberry butter. Have you imagined your life without the possibility of sticking a fork in a jiggly mandarin orange soufflé in that stylish yet not overly sophisticated dining room? Obviously not.”(Related note: the restaurant is closing March 31, and is booked solid until the end of its run.)

Though some may view it as hyperbole, Nichols put this news on the same plane as some of the most famous tragedies of the past half-century or so: “I heard the news while I was brushing my teeth. Yes, I will remember where I was when the popover died, just like I recall Howard Cosell reporting John Lennon’s death in 1980 and, in 1963, when the voice of the principal at Arthur Kramer Elementary School blared over a crackly loudspeaker, ‘JFK has been shot.’”

Still, some city officials and chamber of commerce-types are heartened by NM’s plans to pour $100 million into renovations at its NorthPark Center store in the city. In a news release, Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said: “This iconic brand has been part of the downtown landscape for over 100 years, and we will miss its presence. However, Saks Global’s commitment to upgrading Neiman Marcus’ NorthPark Center location allows for the Dallas-born brand to maintain its significant local presence and ongoing contribution to our city’s economic growth.”