It may require more than the wave of a wand to bring the Magnificent Mile back to its pre-pandemic glory, but the opening of a big, Harry Potter-themed store in Chicago renews hope for a comeback on one of the nation’s top retail avenues.
A large crowd lined the avenue early Thursday ahead of the opening at 676 N. Michigan Ave., ready to catch a glimpse of one of the world’s few interactive retail experiences celebrating the best-selling series of books by J.K. Rowling and the blockbuster movies that followed, including the “Fantastic Beasts” spinoff series.
The new Chicago space at the base of the Omni Hotel Chicago comes as the city’s best-known retail corridor remains in flux after prominent store closings during the early stages of COVID-19 and in the years that have followed.
It also comes as a move toward more experience-based retail plays out throughout the world.
The Warner Bros. Discovery Retail Experiences concept is designed to sell Chicago-themed Harry Potter merchandise such as shirts, hats, jackets and mugs. It also looks to carry on the magic of the enduring Hollywood franchise.
That’s where photo-friendly and hands-on elements come in, starting with a Patronus deer statue outside and a moving mermaid stained-glass window and golden egg just inside the entrance.
Butterbeer and every flavor beans
Past the entrance is a sprawling, speakeasy-inspired butterbeer bar selling butterbeer in draft, frozen and ice cream form, along with other items such as coffee, popcorn and cookies.
A giant Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans station includes imagery of Chicago’s Cloud Gate sculpture, also known as the Bean, along with a wheel that can be spun to randomly pick jellybean flavors. Cringeworthy variations include soap, rotten egg and vomit.
Other eye-catching elements are a wand room, butterbean bottles branded with imagery from Chicago’s city flag and skyline, a goblet of fire and flying books.
Previously, Harry Potter stores and studio tours opened in London, New York and Tokyo.
CoStar News first reported last September that Warner Bros. was planning the store at 676 N. Michigan, and Warner Bros. confirmed the deal about two weeks later. Earlier this year, the company disclosed plans to open in April.
Shoppers already were gathering outside the store Wednesday, the day before it opened. Inside, actor Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy in the series of movies, was on hand for media interviews.
The space is owned by TRT Holdings, which also owns the Omni hospitality chain.
Challenged corridor
The storefront has been vacant since a large Express clothing store closed in early 2021, less than a year into the health crisis.
Other significant closings on North Michigan Avenue since the onset of the pandemic and later rounds of civil unrest have included Macy’s leaving its flagship space within the Water Tower Place vertical mall and the Signature Room restaurant shutting its doors near the top of the 100-story former John Hancock Center skyscraper.
Amid those closings and broader uncertainty in the retail industry, some Mag Mile buildings in recent years have sold at huge discounts to previous values. Owners of some mainstays, including the Water Tower Place and Shops at North Bridge vertical malls, have handed properties back to their lenders.
The lender-turned-owner at Water Tower Place, Metropolitan Life Insurance, is considering converting upper floors of the mall to a new use such as medical offices, traditional office space or other new uses, CoStar News first reported in 2023.
Recently, though, real estate professionals have pointed to an uptick in leasing and tours by tenants.
Hopeful signs include a huge lease by Spanish clothing chain Mango, which is opening a store in a neighboring space at 664-670 N. Michigan, the opening of an Alo Yoga store in the former Disney Store building at 717 N. Michigan, and Aritzia’s move into a multilevel former Gap store at 555 N. Michigan.
Harry Potter’s long-term space at 676 N. Michigan follows a pop-up at Water Tower Place and the recent run of the play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” at the Nederlander Theatre in Chicago’s Loop business district.