One year after opening in the West Loop, The Oprah Store's kind of a bust, neighbors say

A year after opening in the West Loop, the Oprah Store, located at 37 N. Carpenter St., is having a quiet celebration: there are no balloons or streamers, just a window display that, in January, was accompanied by a sale, according to an e-mail from Darcy Rogers, who manages the store.

Local businesses said proximity to the media queen’s retail outlet has not had a significant impact on their receipts, so to them the anniversary was a non-event.

“Oh,  really?” was Chase Kendall’s reaction when told the 5,500-square-foot store with “merchandise that represents the style and taste Oprah celebrates,” hit the one-year mark.

A co-owner of the Third Rail Tavern on West Madison, Kendall said that although Oprah fans may wander into his bar during the warmer months, his business benefits more from other factors: being located along a major route (Madison Street) to the nearby United Center, neighborhood residents, and Harpo Inc., the Oprah-empire production company just across the street from the store, whose employees stop in and grab a drink.

Kim Hiley, owner of women’s boutique Tribeca, said her store is attuned to the neighborhood and has not sold much merchandise to Oprah Store patrons. Hiley, who relocated her store from Lincoln Park to the West Loop in 2007, said she chose the area because “it seemed like a place that needed a neighborhood store.”

Hiley said she heard about the Oprah store’s arrival after deciding to move in and thought that it might generate customer traffic, but it hasn’t panned out. According to Hiley, it’s a matter of bad fit, both in style and size. Describing Oprah’s base as “suburban mom,” she said “that’s not really my target market. Our target market is really 30 to 59, more of an urban person.”

Bridal boutique Smitten, which opened last May, has had better luck. Owner Kirstin Martin, who said she, too picked her location without knowing the Oprah store was coming, finds being close to the Oprah Store has been an unexpected bonus.

“We definitely see people with the green bags come over,” she said, referring to the bags Oprah Store shoppers bring with them. Martin said the true benefit of being close to Oprah is in the warmer months, when people getting off the "Hop on Hop Off" Guided Trolley explore the surrounding streets. The bus drops customers off in front of Oprah’s retail outlet, and just yards from West Madison, where Smitten is located. But “in the colder weather they pretty much stay near the [Oprah] shop” Martin said.

When talking about the neighborhood’s continuing evolution, as well as in the past year, proprietors continually spoke about a sense of community that residents are working hard to develop. They also noted the condominiums under development and the young couples they hoped the buildings would continue to attract.

According to Smitten’s Martin, and confirmed by the Oprah Store’s general manager Darcy, the Oprah retail outlet participates in the effort to build the community. Last May, the Oprah store was part of the Walk the West Loop event, in which retailers around the neighborhood – including shops along West Lake Street and several galleries--stayed open until 9 p.m. and offered drinks and discounts. Oprah Store representatives sometimes meet with local businesses to discuss how to increase traffic.

However, even with Oprah’s presence along West Randolph – in addition to the store on North Carpenter, Harpo has other buildings in the area – nearby storefronts remain empty, a result, some said, of the economic downturn.

“Nothing has opened during the recession ,” said Tribeca’s Hiley. “They are building a lot of condo complexes that will have retail space at the bottom of them, but nothing is really happening.”