Bloomingdale's greets NYC with a little Sinatra, a lot of sanitizer
"When you hear Frank, it's time to unlock the doors," a sales associate explains.
On Monday morning at 10:57 a.m., Sinatra's "New York, New York" once again blared over the loudspeakers at Bloomingdale's on East 59th Street. And with that, the quintessential Upper East Side destination is back, resuming a years-long, store-opening tradition for the first time since the coronavirus forced it to shut its doors in March.
At one entrance, about 15 women who've formed an orderly line march in. One of them is looking for a summer hat. Others are here simply to take in the spectacle.
The reopening comes after weeks of preparation and more than a century of doing business in the city, first in lower Manhattan and since 1886, at its current location on Lexington and 59th.
It "feels like a milestone," Tony Spring, Bloomingdale's chief executive, says in an email.
To James Gerber, Bloomingdale's is something of a second home. He's been a greeter since 2004, most often from a post at the foot of the escalators near the Fendi boutique. During the lockdown, he posted photos on Instagram of his Bloomie's teddy bear outfitted in a space suit and mask.
It's good to be back, he says, but there's a lot to process.
The furniture is gone from the break room. Masks are required. Shifts are staggered and start with a temperature reading. Employees "have to feel comfortable here," explains Dorothy Kiely, who's in charge of the 59th Street store as well as its SoHo branch.
So do customers. There's plexiglass at the registers and hand-sanitizer dispensers line the aisles on each floor. Mascara wands and lipstick have been removed from their tubes. Returns and just-tried-on clothes must remain on designated racks for at least 24 hours before they go back on the floor.
At the Le Labo counter, two rows of empty perfume bottles - holding what used to be blends of fragrances including jasmine petals and moss, cumin and agarwood - are on display. Employees will use the full bottles only behind the counter to dispense samples, sanitizing hands and bottle tops each time. "I think he likes perfume," says a passerby, pulling on the leash of her goldendoodle as it bounds down the aisle.
On the 7th floor, customers buying frozen yogurt from Forty Carrots sign with the pen from a jar marked "sanitised" and put it back in a jar marked "used." It's takeout only. One couple enjoys theirs in the luggage department.
In the shop windows and throughout the store are covid-related messages. On the 3rd floor, a particularly snazzy display reads, "Wash your hands often," with mannequins holding bars of soap. Opposite the mannequins is a sanitation station.
Sprays, mops and dusters are out on every floor. At a cosmetics counter on 3, Mariana Carter puts on her signature red Clarins scarf and wipes down a chair, the scent of a Meyer's cleaner in the air.
Down in the Arcade, a rope surrounds the Chanel boutique. Only one person is allowed in at a time. In the elevators, the maximum is four people, with spots designating where to stand. Escalating is encouraged over elevating. Every so often, the music is interrupted for an announcement by the store manager welcoming customers and reminding them to socially distance.
Carol Ross buys Creme de la Mer moisturizer and winds up with $400 in gift cards. Since she lives across the street, she'll be back soon. "I really need the home floor. I need a duvet cover. I need new china. I'm working on a house in the Hamptons for the summer." Shopping online is out of the question. "These are things I want to look at and touch."
Home items have been in such demand that Kristin Benvenuto and Liz Wilcoxen, who typically sell clothes, have turned into part-time decorators, recommending luxury towels and sheets for the upscale, stay-at-home life. "It's the refresh people want right now," Wilcoxen says. A surprising number of client requests come over text.
For Benvenuto, the reopening came as a bit of a shock. She spent more than two months in the store mostly alone, fulfilling online orders and assisting top customers who expect Bloomingdale's to go the extra mile.
Among her adventures: going to the beauty cages in the basement with a flashlight to find a lipstick that wasn't listed online; finding three Miele vacuum cleaners in white, from three different Bloomingdale's stores, to send all at once to a home in the Hamptons; and gift-wrapping and packing in two boxes, one very large stuffed elephant.