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DILLARD’S INC.
What: Fashion apparel, cosmetics and home furnishings retail chain
Where: New store opens Oct. 8 at 7660 Blake Rd., Liberty Twp., inside Liberty Center development
Liberty Center Store Phone: 513-712-5902
Liberty Center Store Manager: Richard Lanthorn
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays; and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays
Website: www.dillards.com
Department store Dillard’s kicks off the first grand opening celebration of a Liberty Center retailer today with special prizes and guest appearances.
Dillard's, a Little Rock, Ark.-based department store chain, will put its best foot forward at the Liberty Center development, company officials say. Shoppers of the new, nearly 160,000-square-foot, two-story Butler County store will see the company's latest prototype design with an open layout and fewer walls blocking the view across the floor plan.
Each department has service experts that have received extra training on certain brands or clothing fittings, according to store manager Richard Lanthorn.
Other features that set Dillard’s apart include exclusive private brands such as Southern Living home decor, according to the company.
Altogether, the store will employ about 140 to 160 employees, Lanthorn said. Job openings are still available and listed online at careers.dillards.com.
Construction continues at the approximately $350 million Liberty Center project, located at the crossroads of Liberty Way, Ohio 129 and Interstate 75 in Butler County's Liberty Twp. The first phase consists of just over 1 million square feet of shopping, dining, office and residential space.
DILLARD’S OPENING SCHEDULE
The Dillard’s grand opening starts with a ribbon cutting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, at the store’s Liberty Way entrance.
Special guests attending include Myra Biblowit, president of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation; and Barbara Bradley Baekgaard, co-founder and chief creative officer of Vera Bradley, according to Dillard’s.
From 10.30 a.m. to noon Thursday is an appearance by Cincinnati Reds mascot Rosie Red.
Then from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., customers can meet designer Monica Botkier, founder and creative director of Botkier Handbags.
SPECIAL GIVEAWAYS
Several giveaways and special events are also part of the celebration. Ten percent of all sales at Liberty Center Dillard’s Oct. 8 will benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Also, the first 200 customers at the Liberty Way entrance Thursday will receive a mystery gift card valued at $10, $20 or $30.
From Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 11, over $40,000 total in prizes will be given away including apparel, accessories, cosmetics and a trip for two to New York City, according to Dillard’s.
For more information, contact the store at 513-712-5902.
PARKING AND TRAFFIC
Guests coming to the Dillard’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods stores should enter on Liberty Way and use the Southeast Surface Lots to park, according to Jackie Reau, spokeswoman for Liberty Center developer Steiner + Associates.
Other areas of the center still under construction will be cordoned off and both stores will be clearly marked for guests, according to Reau.
The Butler County Sheriff’s Office could not be reached Wednesday to determine what steps, if any, might be taken Thursday morning to direct traffic flow along Liberty Way to and from Liberty Center.
Liberty Twp. officials have made arrangements for a large message board — the same as what was used when Cabela’s opened in August — to be in place along Liberty Way from Oct. 19 to Oct. 26 around the larger Liberty Center opening, according to Caroline McKinney, the township’s spokeswoman.
LIBERTY CENTER UPDATE
A grand opening will be held Oct. 22 and continues that weekend for the majority of other first-phase Liberty Center tenants, according to town center management.
The number of crew working on site is at least 700, Justin Leyda, senior development executive for Steiner + Associates, previously told Journal-News.
Another anchor tenant, Dick's Sporting Goods, is also open for business but will save its grand opening festivities for the weekend of Oct. 24, according to the company's website.
There's a waiting list for the luxury apartments opening at Liberty Center, which should be ready for the first tenants to move in during January, Liberty Center General Manager Kevin Cedik said during a September tour of the property.
AC Hotels by Marriott is also set to open in January before another round of retail tenants open spring of next year, Cedik said.
Staff Writer Eric Schwartzberg contributed to this report.
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