New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
L.L. Bean sets grand-opening celebration for Broadway store
NEW HAVEN — The Bootmobile will soon be making a return visit to the city when L.L. Bean rolls out a celebration of the opening of its store on Broadway as part of a Yale University development.
The company is advertising the celebration in its newest catalogue.
It says welcoming the 9,000square-foot store, which will occupy the first two floors of a six-story building, will be a threeday event from Aug. 3-5.
Upstairs from the retail portion are four floors of apartments for the university’s graduate students. It is part of the Broadway Shopping District, commercial properties owned by Yale that mainly feature national brands in what is the city’s most concentrated retail area.
On Aug. 3, there will be a gift card giveaway. On both Aug. 4
and 5, starting at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., weather permitting, there will be free yoga.
What the company described in its catalogue as block parties are scheduled for noon to 6 p.m. They will feature free food and live music, the Bootmobile and games. “Well-socialized dogs” are welcome.
The store will be located at 272-310 Elm St. at the intersection of Broadway in an area surrounded by the Yale residential colleges.
Construction kicked off in August 2016. The company said it will create 60 jobs.
There is an L.L. Bean Outlet store in Orange that some customers worried will close. An employee at the store on Friday said they don’t know, but were told they could apply for the New Haven jobs if they wanted to.
The media office of L.L.
Bean’s corporate headquarters failed to return multiple calls or respond to an email seeking comment. It also could not be contacted to ask whether New Haven will be considered for one of its pop-up offices, a concept announced by several media outlets on Friday.
L.L. Bean and agency Jack Morton are teaming up with co-working company Industrious to provide the outdoor offices that feature cycling desks, workspace, power and Wi-Fi. It launches Thursday in New York’s Madison Square Garden.
L.L. Bean, which features outdoor clothing, camping equipment, outdoor furniture, as well as some homegoods, was started in Freeport, Maine, in 1912. Known for its original waterproof boots, the Bootmobile is designed in the shape of the iconic footwear.
Similar to other outdoor stores, it will offer courses to encourage people to get
outdoors for recreation.
Prior to L.L. Bean announcing its plans for New Haven, the city had two other outdoor retail stores — Trailblazer, which was next door to the future Bean site, and Denali — across the street.
Not long afterward, Trailblazer brought Denali back to its site on Elm Street, while another outdoor store, Patagonia, took up residence across the street at the corner of York and Elm in August 2017.
Both Trailblazer and Denali are now gone, with Patagonia left to compete with the much larger L.L. Bean. At the time of the L.L. Bean announcement, city officials predicted they would not be in competition, but would be complementary.
Patagonia, Denali and Trailblazer are all operated by Chris Howe.