Bloomie's By The Bay

Attention shoppers! Bloomingdale’s opens in San Francisco this month at Fifth and Market. That’s right: The beloved East Coast institution is going tête-à-tête with Nordstrom and Union Square.

The San Francisco location is the second largest store in the chain’s history. "This is the most exciting store we’ve ever built," says Michael Gould, chairman and CEO. "But we’ll have to earn our stripes—there are a lot of great stores in San Francisco."

Bloomie’s is the featured attraction of the newly expanded Westfield San Francisco Centre, which will also be home to 170 stores, a nine-screen Century Theatres cinema, and top-rated restaurants such as Lark Creek Steak, a more urban version of Lark Creek Walnut Creek. Forget retail therapy—this is 900,000 square feet of pure intoxication.

Bloomingdale’s September 28 opening gives the luxury retailer roughly a one-year head start on Barneys New York, which is scheduled to make its debut next fall on Stockton Street near O’Farrell, in the building formerly occupied by FAO Schwarz.

Bloomingdale’s hosts a preview cocktail gala featuring Grammy Award-winning jazz artist Chris Botti on September 26 from 6 to 9 p.m. Ticket proceeds benefit UCSF Children’s Hospital. For information, call (415) 502-4337 or visit www.bloomingdales.com.