A flurry of new stores arrives on the Country Club Plaza

Earlier this year, dark storefronts dotted the Country Club Plaza, leaving some consumers concerned for the iconic shopping district.

Not to worry. Negotiations were taking place behind the scenes with prospective new tenants — some exclusive to the market and some locally owned operations — and now most spots will be filled in time for the upcoming 84th annual Plaza Art Fair on Sept. 25-27.

New stores

▪ Warby Parker, eyewear designer and retailer, had a soft opening this week at 307 Nichols Road with a grand opening planned for Saturday. It currently has 13 stores nationwide.

For every pair of glasses sold, a pair is distributed to someone in need, and the company said it has donated more than 1 million pairs of glasses since it was founded in 2010.

▪ Barton Perreira, a luxury eyewear brand, opened its first area store at 421 Nichols Road in March. It also has locations in Aspen, Colo., and Nashville.

▪ Coveted Home, a locally owned interior design studio and showroom, opened at 610 W. 48th St. in May. The shop sells furniture, home decor and gift items.

▪ Kendra Scott, a Texas-based jewelry retailer, entered the market with its first area brick-and-mortar store, at 412 Nichols Road, in early August.

▪ Madewell, a women’s apparel, accessories and shoe store chain, took 3,313 square feet at 309 Nichols Road for a mid-August opening. Madewell, a division of the J. Crew Group, was founded in 2006 and now has more than 90 stores, including one in Leawood.

▪ Mojo Cycling Studio, a locally owned spinning studio, opened in late June in a 4,583-square-foot space at 4722 Broadway, Suite 200, above the Apple Store.

▪ República (ri-POO-bli-kuh), a Spanish tapas restaurant by locally owned Bread & Butter Concepts, opened in the former Ingredient spot at 4807 Jefferson St. in early August. It is just around the block from another Bread & Butter restaurant, Gram & Dun.

Alan Gaylin, founder and chief executive officer of Bread & Butter Concepts, said República is a “modern take on traditional classic Spanish cuisine paired with current sensibility and locally sourced and house-made ingredients.”

▪ Vineyard Vines, known for its preppy line of clothing and its pink whale logo, took a 3,825-square-foot space at 4700 Broadway, former home of A/X Armani Exchange for a mid-August opening.

▪ Zoës Kitchen, a fast casual concept offering Mediterranean-inspired dishes, opened in a 2,778-square-foot space at 100 Ward Parkway in March. Blonde nightclub formerly occupied the space.

Expansions

▪ Beauty Brands, 438 Ward Parkway, nearly doubled in size, taking the former Kaplan’s Fabrics space. The store features stations where customers can try out featured products, new styling tools and hair products, fragrances and more.

▪ After 35 years at 426 Ward Parkway, Diebel’s Sportsmens Gallery is redoing its storefront as well as expanding by taking a former ice cream store space to the west and converting it into a semi-private smoking lounge. During regular business hours, the lounge will be open to customers making a purchase. It will be open after hours for members of Diebel’s lounge. Diebel’s first opened on the Plaza in 1954.

“We are borrowing the idea for the storefront from an English pub. We thought it was time to reinvest, and we signed a new lease so we will be here another 15 years,” said Curt Diebel, president.

Diebel’s will host the Kansas City Cigar Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday on the roof of the store. The cost per person is $125 and includes 18 cigars, lunch from Stroud’s, liquor tastings and live music.

Pop-ups

▪ Kansas City’s local vintage-inspired sportswear brand, Charlie Hustle, plans to open its first temporary store later this month. Chase McAnulty founded the company in 2012 to “bridge the gap between young and old, and worn and reproduced.” Items include his popular “Heart of KC” T-shirts and hats. It is taking 1,155 square feet at 419 W. 47th St., in a new space carved out of the former Armani Exchange shop.

“As we continue to grow as a brand, this is certainly a necessary step, to test the brick-and-mortar market,” McAnulty said. “We are on one of the main streets, and to be lumped in there with West Elm, Baldwin and Vineyard Vines is certainly a honor, and it is an honor to have the city behind us and helping us grow.”

▪ Prize Antiques, which sells vintage and antique home decor, furniture, artworks, rugs and more, will open a 2,221-square-foot pop-up at 320 Ward Parkway on Sept. 25.

▪ Brookstone, a retail chain that sells a variety of consumer lifestyle products, plans an Oct. 10 opening in a 6,113-square-foot space at 235 W. 47th St.

Opening soon

▪ Bluemercury, a chain of luxury makeup, skin care and spa retail stores, is entering the market with a new 1,634-square-foot store at 415 Nichols Road.

▪ CorePower Yoga, a Denver-based chain offering heated power yoga classes, plans to open this fall in a two-story building at 4725 Wyandotte St.

▪ Corner Bakery Cafe said it was in negotiations to take over the 4,000-square-foot former California Pizza Kitchen space at 4743 Pennsylvania.

▪ Sephora, a perfume and cosmetics chain, plans a late October opening in a 5,500-square-foot space at 424 Nichols Road, former home of Brooks Brothers, which closed in early 2013.

▪ T.Loft plans an October opening at 200 W. 47th St. It will be the fourth area location for the all-natural health cafe. N Valentino apparel store formerly occupied the space.

▪ Tesla Motors recently confirmed plans for a new area showroom but would not confirm the location at 4760 Broadway. Now Highwoods Properties, which owns the Plaza, has confirmed the location. But crews are hard at work on the space and work permits show Tesla Motors as the tenant.

▪ Vom Fass plans a fall opening at 515 Nichols Road, former home of Gymboree. Vom Fass offers European oils, vinegars, spirits, wines and spices.

Stay tuned

▪ Highwoods had no updates for the Morton’s Grille space at 4646 J.C. Nichols Parkway. Morton’s Grille closed in July after only eight months of operations. The former Hibachi-The Japanese Steak House space at 4745 Wyandotte St. also is still empty. Hibachi, a Plaza fixture since 1976, closed in early 2013.

▪ Meanwhile, work on Plaza 211 — the former Halls Plaza building at 211 Nichols Road — continues. Highwoods said the west garage is scheduled to open later this month but had no other updates to share.

This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 6:12 PM with the headline "A flurry of new stores arrives on the Country Club Plaza."