Macy's to Close Nine Stores

Cincinnati-based Macy's Inc. announced the closure of nine locations by early 2008, according to Hfnmag.com. While the stores represent one percent of the company's total number of stores, it is the largest store closing since the Macy's brand launched. The locations affected include Prien Lake Mall store in Lake Charles, La.; Rolling Acres Mall store in Akron, Ohio; Canton Centre store in Canton, Ohio; Randall Park Mall in North Randall, Ohio; Crossroads Mall store in Oklahoma City, Okla.; the Valley View Center store in Dallas; Sharpstown Center in Houston, Texas; and the Family Center at Riverdale in Riverdale, Utah. “While the decision to close stores is difficult, it is necessary to do so selectively in locations with declining sales and where we have been unable to identify sufficient growth opportunities,” stated Terry Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO. The store closures will affect 899 employees. According to Macy's, these employees will be offered positions in surrounding stores, with those laid off receiving a severance. Macy's operates more than 850 stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.

2007 restaurants: Openings, closings, highs and lows

By Rick Nelson, Star Tribune
NOW OPEN
The dining scene had plenty of notable openings, including Blackbird, Cafe Ena, Cafe Maude, Crave, Fogo de Chao, Harry's Food & Cocktails, Jasmine 26, Landmarc Grill, Manhattans Restaurant & Bar, Mysore Cafe, Ngon Vietnamese Bistro, Obento-Ya Japanese Bistro, Pagoda, Pittsburgh Blue, Spill the Wine, Via Cafe & Bar and Wayzata Eatery and Wine Bar.

DEARLY DEPARTED
An especially challenging year led to the loss of A Rebours, Auriga, Levain, Five Restaurant & Street Lounge, Fhima's, Margaux, Copper Bleu, Emma's Restaurant & Lounge, Cafe Limon, Carousel, Chang Bang, Maverick's Wood Grill, 700 Express, Sobas, Cafe 44, Pane Vino Dolce, and Willie's Wine Bar.

COMING SOON
Blue Skies (24 University Av. SE., Minneapolis) is promising more than 100 wines by the glass when it opens in the spring. Some members of the team behind Bellanotte are getting set to launch r. Norman's, serving steak and sushi next door to the Pantages Theatre in downtown Minneapolis; the restaurant debuts New Year's Eve. Hemisphere Restaurant Partners (Mission American Kitchen, Via Cafe & Bar) are turning their attention to Rosedale with Flame, a wood-burning rotisserie and grill aiming at a spring opening.

2007 restaurants: Unforgettable dishes

Creamed corn at Harry's Food & Cocktails: It's called comfort food for a reason. Chef Steven Brown distilled the joys of summer into a bowl, combining sun-kissed, flavor-peaked kernels with a blissful -- or is that sinful? -- amount of butter and cream.

Star Tribune Reviews Brasa Rotisserie

Alex Roberts sure read the market right. For his second Minneapolis marquee, the chef and co-owner of Restaurant Alma turned his attention toward the simple pleasures of home cooking. Leaving the land of hot dish, Roberts headed south for inspiration, gleaning from West African, Caribbean and South American cooking traditions to forge an affordable and original dining experience, one based on a pair of singularly delicious proteins (slow-cooked pork, crispy roast chicken), a mouth-watering list of simple side dishes (oven-glazed garnet yams, Cheddar-enriched grits, jalapeño-laced creamed spinach, a superlative corn bread) and a short list of inexpensive beers and wines. Brasa, which is Spanish for "red-hot coals," has quickly evolved into a top takeout address. Hanging out in the cleverly repackaged former service station is a treat, too. Put in Hollywood terms, Brasa is the feel-good restaurant of the year.

Think twice before naming your baby!

Italian court says baby can't be named 'Friday'Judges bar couple from naming their child after 'Robinson Crusoe' character

ROME - What's in a name? If the name is Friday, shame and ridicule, according to Italian judges who forbade a couple from naming their child like the character in "Robinson Crusoe.""They thought that it recalled the figure of a savage, thus creating a sense of inferiority and failing to guarantee the boy the necessary decorum," the couple's lawyer, Paola Rossi, said Wednesday.The couple are considering appealing the decision to Italy's highest court, she said.Mara and Roberto Germano, whose son was born on Sept. 3, 2006, had the boy named and baptized Venerdi, Italian for Friday.Even though the boy was not born on a Friday — it was Sunday — his parents liked the name, said Rossi."They wanted an unusual name, something original, and it did not seem like a shameful name," Rossi said in a telephone interview. "We think it calls to mind the day of the week rather than the novel's character."Since city hall officials are obliged by law to report odd names, the matter ended up before judges in Genoa, the northern Italian city where the couple live.Last month, an appeals court stated that Friday falls into the category of the "ridiculous or shameful" names that are barred by law, as it recalled the native servant in Daniel Defoe's novel.The judges wrote that naming somebody Friday would bar him from "serene interpersonal relationships" and would turn the boy into the "laughing stock of his group," according to a report in La Repubblica this week.According to the daily, the judges also said that, as a day of the week, Friday raises a sentiment of sadness and penitence, when not being associated with bad luck outright.Rossi said the court, which upheld a previous ruling made in June, also ordered the boy to be named Gregorio after the saint on whose day he was born.

Consumer Warning: What's in Your Cosmetics?

There has been a lot of talk regarding lead in lipstick these past years. And Minnesota is the first state to legally ban lead from mascara starting January 1st. If you're interested in this topic, please click on the links to articles below.
Red Lipstick Spreads the Lead
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2007/2007-10-15-04.asp
Easily Lead
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/lipstick.asp
NEW PRODUCT TESTS FIND LEAD IN LIPSTICK
http://www.safecosmetics.org/newsroom/press.cfm?pressReleaseID=26
Minnesota Bans Mercury in Makeup
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316811,00.html

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New Retail in New York

Check out this article about the variety and creative new stores opening up in New York!

http://www.ddimagazine.com/displayanddesignideas/photos/stylus/13931.pdf