Many people have been anticipating the opening of Nordstrom Rack in Reno and it finally opened Thursday.
It now occupies a 31,000 square foot property in the Redfield Promenade on South Virginia Street, where the Borders was formerly located, next to Bed Bath and Beyond.
This new store is not only bringing excitement to shoppers, but it's also helping nearby businesses.
Nordstrom Rack is an off-price division of the Nordstrom department store that sells clothing, accessories and shoes for 30 to 70 percent off of regular prices.
And with lines out the door earlier this morning, many customers were excited to sift through the racks.
"Wonderful, fun, excellent bargains, great uptown merchandise," said Linda King, a customer.
Mary Groves was also waiting for the opening and said, "It was great. I can't wait to come back when it's less crowded, but it was fun."
Before the store opening in Reno today, the closest location was in California, almost 2 hours away.
"They've been wanting a Nordstrom Rack store for quite some time and they've been driving all the way to Roseville to shop with us,” said Naomi Tobis with Nordstrom Rack. “We were happy to be able to bring a store closer to home for them."
And shoppers aren't the only ones happy to see the new store. Surrounding businesses like We Olive and Wine Bar are seeing the overflow of foot traffic come through their doors as well. They say they wouldn't be able to attract as many customers without Nordstrom's presence.
"Literally we're slammed for about three hours straight. So we were a little bit overwhelmed as a small merchant but it was absolutely wonderful to see they're already attracting a great clientele. But we're also really excited about the shopping experience in this mall,” said Alysia Peters with We Olive and Wine Bar.
Nordstrom Rack is taking the place of the old Border's book store that was here before it closed down in 2011. The recession hit many of the businesses in the Redfield Promenade mall, and with this opening, more stores are coming in and stores already there are making a comeback.
"When I was choosing a location for We Olive and Wine Bar, thankfully I had some pre-knowledge that Nordstrom would be coming. So it certainly played favorably in picking this location,” said Peters.
We Olive and Wine Bar is just one of the nearby stores hoping this momentum continues.
