For five hours Saturday State Street from Lake Street to Van Buren was, in the words of a passer-by, "shut down and turned into a stupid ass park." more ›

Frankly, we're not particularly excited about the new Mrs. Fields store on State Street. We've never actually purchased one of their cookies (though we've had many brought in to office parties) and there are enough decent coffeeshops and bakeries in this town to keep our attention. But, free cookies are free cookies! Today, until 9 PM, the new Mrs. Fields store on State Street will be giving away free cookies and free lattes. If you work in the loop, or you're taking the red line somewhere, stop in and gobble them up. more ›

Pinkberry, the trendy, California-based frozen yogurt shop, is opening its first Chicago store. To celebrate the grand opening, you get free food. From 5-9 P.M. today, stop by their new location and get a free small yogurt. Sounds like a great afternoon treat! more ›

Your correspondent was lunching at M Burger yesterday when the gentleman pictured above walked by. It's remarkable that upon initially seeing this fellow the only thought to surface was, "It seems a bit warm for that outfit." A close second was, "Dang! Why didn't I take a picture of that?!" Luckily for all of us, someone did. more ›

The man shot dead by police during the incident in the Loop yesterday afternoon has been identified as 45-year-old Jacob Paul Stolarz. After yesterday's flurry of unconfirmed reports, here's what we now know: more ›

It might not be Apple, but some actual good news today for Block 37: they've managed to land a Puma store. It'll be the first time all lines of Puma accessories will be under one roof, making it more alluring than, say, the Puma shop on Rush Street. We also get a kick out of the "block-37-richard-daley-urban-renewal" segment of Chicago Breaking News' url. more ›

Now that the holiday season has descended, and since we had an hour to kill downtown, we thought we'd wander around the State Street corridor and document some of the insanity. Even in a shit economy, thousands were in the heart of the Loop for bargain hunting and tree-gazing. Stores like Macy's (Yes, Fields Fans, we've ventured inside) and Sears were packed with throngs of shoppers, and Daley Plaza was nearly impenetrable with curious residents, suburbanites and tourists looking to complete their stein collection or overdose on sugar-coated nuts. We didn't have the balls or the patience to venture north into the lion's den of North Michigan Avenue; any reports from survivors would be appreciated. more ›

We were just wondering what was going to go in at the Sullivan Center (née the Caron Pirie Scott building), and now we know: fancypants grocer Fox & Obel is opening up a 25,000 square foot store at the 1 S. State location. The building will also house a FlatTop Grill (whose name always makes us think haircut, not stir-fry), and a three-floor Billabong store. Billabong? They're still around? more ›

While the Field’s Fans are too busy protesting poor customer service at Macy’s as they long for the days of Marshall Field’s, customer satisfaction for shopping scabs has increased. An annual University of Michigan Study ranking shopper satisfaction among discount and department stores and supermarkets reported Macy’s saw a 5.6% increase in customer satisfaction, ending with a score of 75 out of 100 points. Nordstrom tops the list with a score of 80, only five points between the two. The Sun-Times reported: more ›

Oh man, we almost forgot about the Children's Museum debate! Luckily, Alderman Brendan Reilly wants to keep it front and center, which is why he sent the Museum a list of 24 possible places it could relocate that aren't Grant Park: more ›

Chicago is a great city for tea drinkers. With all of its independent coffee shops, Argo Tea’s 10 locations and the opulent snobbery of high tea at the Drake, it takes something pretty special to get noticed around here. Operating out of a cute (but tiny) storefront at 1160 N. State, TeaGschwendner easily stands up to the competition. Their store carries more than 300 varieties of high quality, loose-leaf tea, tea brewing paraphernalia and many attractive china tea sets. more ›

It was a rough week for Macy’s, people. 2,500 jobs cut. January same-store sales down 7.1%. Let’s just put that into perspective: sales are nowhere near expectations across the board. A survey of 43 retailers by the UBS-International Council of Shopping Centers indicated that January sales were only up 0.5%, a percentage point below the anticipated 1.5%. Macy’s, on the other hand, anticipated their sales were going to be down 4 to 6%. more ›

One of the more anticipated restaurant openings in recent weeks has been Takashi, which opened its doors December 30th at 1952 N. Damen in Bucktown. more ›

Further evidence that Macy’s strategies are not headed in the successful direction executives hoped, Macy’s North, the division that operates Macy’s in the Midwest, announced Friday the layoff of 271 employees, citing lagging sales. Combined sales for November and December were down 1.1%, while December’s sales were down 7.9%, significantly worse than the anticipated 4 to 7 percent drop over last year. January’s same day sales are expected to dip 4 to 6 percent. more ›

. Hubbawha? more ›

Friend-of-the-site Micah spotted an unusual feathered friend over the weekend and snapped this shot. Apparently that's a Great Horned Owl, chillaxing on the 1400 block of South State Street. H00t! more ›

We reported on Wednesday sales have been sinking at the flagship State Street store--nostalgic epicenter for Field’s lovers. Meanwhile, Field’s Fans continue to protest. A group of concerned Field's Fans showed up on Saturday to “protest against Macy's business practices here in the Chicago area.” They have scheduled special “leaflet” events on the Friday and Saturday following Thanksgiving, as well as another rally “Under the Great Clock” at noon on Saturday, December 2. Wednesday’s Trib... more ›

A lesbian couple was named "cutest couple" for Waukegan High School's annual yearbook. Minor hand-wringing from a parent ensued. It's too damn early for Christmas music on the radio. Same goes for Christmas sales. You might want to think twice about eating those Jeno's or Totino's frozen pizzas. Too little too late? Macy's hopes FAO Schwartz can bring customers back to State Street. There's still some meaningful soccer to be played at Toyota Park.... more ›

It's hard to believe it's taken the universe this long to combine parades, insane traffic and the ability to punch the living shit out of stuff. But that combo has arrived. Downtown. Today. Yes, at 4pm this afternoon, around 700 boxers, here to punchasize your face for the the AIBA World Boxing Championship, will walk from the Palmer House Hilton to the Chicago Theater in a 4-block parade. more ›

Todd Stroger, today is not your day. The panel he appointed to analyze Cook County healthcare announced today that an independent board should take over because the County has so royally fucked it up. Oh, and his tax plan ain't so hot either; the $4 per phone line is actually illegal. Two people were arrested for stealing vases from Chapel Hill Cemetery in Oakbrook Terrace. Loehmanns! On State Street! The old lady in all... more ›

Chicagoans have been relatively blasé lately about the fates of our most cherished icons. For example, fans adjusted fairly quickly to the renaming of old Comiskey Park, christening the field with a snappy new nickname faster than you can say boo. And even though people still lament the passing of Marshall Field's, it's not as if Macy’s ruined State Street’s mojo. But what would happen if everything were up for grabs? The idea is not as far-fetched as you might think. more ›

While the evil empire from New York City (Macy’s) served complimentary slices of Frango Mint Ice Cream pie to the some twenty guests dining in the seventh floor Walnut Room, about 100 hard-core Marshall Field’s fans staged a protest underneath the the historic clock on State Street below. Today marks the one-year anniversary of Macy’s changing the name of Field’s after after gobbling up May Department Stores, which Field's had been a part of. Organized... more ›

The cast of Family Guy will hit Chicago next month to present, live and uncensored, a “classic episode” of the animated series. Perhaps you love the show but would rather see it delivered by actors on book accompanied, Rocky Horror-style, by hundreds of Stewie groupies reciting their favorite punchlines. If so, get your butt down to the Chicago Theatre box office tomorrow morning in time to nab the close-enough-to-smell-Seth-Green’s-mousse seats. more ›

Dickens wrote, "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." So it seems with Bucktown's Scylla. Bon Apetit's annual restaurants issue comes out this week, and according to "the Extrovert" blog at Metromix, Bucktown's Scylla merits inclusion (the only Chicago restaurant to do so, apparently). And even that is for their grilled lamb with curried vegetables and grape and pine nut gremolata, not the inventive approach to seafood that earned the restaurant and chef Stephanie Izzard wide praise. more ›

How bad do you need to make money that this is the scheme you come up with? More than 1,000 tubes of illegal toothpaste, including some that is potentially poisonous, were found and confiscated during a two-week investigation of more than 248 retail outlets and 22 wholesale distributors in Chicago. Oh, hell no -- The City of Chicago is fighting back against a plan that allows an oil refinery in Whiting, Ind., to dump... more ›

Chicagoist isn't above telling you "we told you so." While we disagree whether Chicagoans should go or not go to the State Street Macy's, we never agreed with the decision to change the Marshall Field's landmark on State Street to a Macy's. The reasons were tenuous at best — brand cohesiveness and the strength of the Macy's name. So, we were not surprised when Federated's chief financial officer, Karen Hoguet, said that the Chicago flagship is "doing badly." more ›

After reading through today's news stories consisting of a child beaten to death, a shooting leading to a car plowing into a home, stabbings in Edgewater, and a human skull discovery, Chicagoist yearns to enlighten you about something a little lighter, a little prettier, a little less riddled with death and violence (well, on the surface, at least). Because we care.
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Due to the U.S. General Services Administration's recent request of Chicago, we're going to have to change our ideal "crime" from intoxicated walking to allowing a street to become "a haven for illegal parking." more ›

OK, so we're actually stretching the truth a little. Maybe. Tomorrow at 11 a.m. there will be a ceremony outside the Chicago Theater, and Mayor Daley will present Chicago's "It" girl with a plaque in honor of "Jennifer Hudson Day." State Street will be closed between Lake and Randolph for the ceremony. more ›

"Lion of the Disenfranchised, Disenfranchised" via Michael DaKidd. more ›