Shopping for a new tie isn’t always the most eventful occasion, but what if it meant you could enjoy a Dante Negroni immediately after bagged it up? You know, just a little treat. Now you can, thanks to a new speakeasy pop-up at Nordstrom’s flagship Men’s Store near Columbus Circle.
As someone who loves shopping, both for myself and my partner, I brought him along to check out the fall fashion and sip on some cocktails. Visiting the pop-up ended up being an altogether low-key affair, and I actually loved that about it. It wasn’t the kind of pop-up to “see and be seen.” It was a place to get away, enjoy a leisurely drink and charcuterie after a long day at work. A hidden gem, if you will.
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Enjoy a chopped cheese while you dance at this epic partyFor those who have yet to visit the Nordstrom Men’s Store, it’s a completely separate building from the main Nordstrom flagship down the street. It features two stories and is (unsurprisingly) much less bustling than its larger counterpart. Take an elevator to the second floor, and you would have no idea that a cocktail bar exists there — not in a purposefully hidden way, but perhaps in a more IYKYK way.
The bar is called The Clubhouse and can be enjoyed all year round, but their collaboration with Dante and New York Cocktail Company lasts until the end of the year. Part of their “Nordstrom For Everything New York” campaign, it celebrates the department store as a destination for “everything a New Yorker would need.”
“The entire concept behind the Nordstrom campaign is to celebrate everything authentically New York, including places like Dante and the New York Cocktail Company,” says Rodrigo Leme, co-founder of NYCC and Director of Business Development at Dante. “Although speakeasies originated in Pittsburgh in the 1880s, they gained popularity in New York City during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and 1930s. Keeping this tradition alive is another way to honor the city’s rich history.”
To find The Clubhouse, walk all the way to the left once you enter the second floor, and you’ll be greeted by deep sapphire velvet banquets and a long marble bar. Sidle up to the bar, grab a seat on a banquet or you can even have a drink in the back room where Nordstrom’s custom tailoring is done. For those looking to get a suit tailored, it’s the best kind of two-in-one.
I ordered one of Dante’s signature cocktails, a foamy Espresso Negroni, topped with a sweet honey cream that perfectly balanced the bitter taste of coffee in the cocktail. Their famed fluffy Negroni is also offered, as well as a Mezcalito Spritz, made with Su Casa Mezcal, Brutto Aperitivo and topped with Prosecco. Bites include cheese and charcuterie boards, a halloumi salad and classic Marcona almonds and olives.
When so many pop-ups and new openings in the city can feel like a popularity contest, a chilled out experience like the collaboration between Dante and Nordstrom felt like my own personal cocktail haven. The only thing left to decide is whether it’s a better idea to imbibe before or after shopping (the latter might be the smarter idea, but we’re not judging).
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