Oprah may soon be leaving Chicago but she's just now opening a new outlet for her products at Water Tower Place. Considered a "microsalon," the shop, Oprah's second in the city, will open tomorrow on the second floor of the Water Tower Place mall. According to the Tribune, the new shop will, "carry select Oprah merchandise, including clothing, memorabilia and collectibles as well as items from the "O" signature baby collection. It will also offer an assortment of South African crafts and jewelry." Of course, if you want Oprah-related products, you don't have to go to the store, you can just log on right here, if that's your thing. more ›

"Tea is a fashion, coffee is a passion," wrote commentor Tim, the last time we wrote about the trendiness of tea. Tim, we hate to break it to you, but at this point, tea seems to have moved beyond trendy and into a full-fledged lifestyle choice. Says who? $5 million in sales this year at Argo Tea, for starters. Today's New York Times has a flattering profile of IT-cum-tea entrepreneurs Arsen Avakian and Simon Simonian,... more ›

Last summer, we somehow found ourselves perusing the goods at a flea market held on the grounds of the Square Barn in Wheeling. Walking in with the intention of not purchasing anything, we were surprised to walk out with a fabulous art deco cuff, a lucite bangle, a bag of colorful necklaces, a set of vintage medical jars and a cake stand, all for about $35. After that fateful trip, we ended up spending at... more ›

There's about to be some empty spaces on North Michigan Avenue, the likes of which haven't been seen on the Magnificent Mile for 15 years. Lord & Taylor will soon shutter the doors at its Water Tower Place location, and it will be 2008 before American Girl Place moves from its current spot on Chicago to take over a portion of the space. With CompUSA closing up shop on Chicago as well, retail vacancy for... more ›

Despite the overall increase in department store shopping, 2006 has been a disappointing year for such shops in the city. From Macy’s takeover of Marshall Fields (and the resulting low sales) to the closing of Carson’s on State Street, the department stores where many of us grew up shopping have been having a tough time with Chicago buyers. While the plight of Macy’s/Marshall Fields and Carson’s is well-known, two other Magnificent Mile mainstays are struggling,... more ›

The Sun-Times is reporting that Oprah is moving out of her Water Tower Place condo to a new apartment a couple of blocks away on East Lakeshore Drive. Sale price: $6.2 million. A couple of thoughts: 1. First of all, we thought that Oprah lived at that curvy tower across from Navy Pier. The fact that she lived at Water Tower Place was news to us. A quick search for "oprah lives" on Flickr doesn't... more ›

Nominees for the 2005 Joseph Jefferson Awards for Equity Theaters, or Jeff Equities for short, have been announced. The nominees are selected from a pool of shows that impressed members of the Jeff Nominating Committee (a.k.a. “Jeff Recommended” productions). You can peruse the full list here. The Jeff Committee loves the big splashy musicals. Beauty and the Beast, a classic fairy tale, and Sweeney Todd, a classic cannibal tale, received 7 and 6 nominations, respectively,... more ›