A press preview of the Dai Nagoya Building, scheduled for its grand opening on March 9th, was held on the 4th. The office portion of the building, completed last fall, opened earlier, and now the commercial facility, spanning five floors above ground and covering approximately 12,000 sq. m (3,800 tsubo), will open. It houses 74 stores and is housed in a retail space spanning five floors above ground and one basement floor. The anchor tenant on the basement, first, and second floors will be ISETAN HAUS, a new mid-sized store format developed as a new business model by Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, with an area of approximately 3,000 sq. m (2,300 sq. m). This will be the first Isetan brand store in the Tokai region, and the interior design was art directed by Kohei Nawa (SANDWICH). ISETAN HAUS is a fashion select store that embodies the essence of the Isetan Shinjuku flagship store, focusing on women's clothing from the independently curated shops "Re-Style" and "Ready for the Weekend," as well as cosmetics, men's clothing, and miscellaneous goods. Previously, pop-up projects at the Shinjuku flagship store, such as "Nippoppin" (basement) and "Isetan Tartan" (second floor), which brings together Isetan check items, are now being expanded as permanent sales areas for the first time.

The Mitsubishi Estate Group, which developed the facility, has utilized its commercial development experience in Tokyo's Marunouchi district to create the "Dai Nagoya Building Advance (DNA)" theme, inheriting the heritage of the building, which was completed in 1962 and was a beloved landmark in front of Nagoya Station until its closure in 2012. The tenant lineup is centered around "nostalgia and creativity." Of the 2,500 tsubo (approximately 3,300 m2) of space outside Isetan House, approximately 40% (approximately 3,300 m2) is dedicated to restaurants, offering a variety and variety of 40 eateries.

The basement floor features "Dinard," an underground shopping mall directly connected to Nagoya Station, with "Maker's Shirts Kamakura" and the natural skincare brand "Shiro" to cater to nearby office workers. The basement entrance faces the Isetan House sales floor across the atrium, and in a prime location at the entrance, a hair care bar has been set up, reflecting the region's nationally renowned "Nagoya roll" hairstyle. A lip bar, selling a selection of lipsticks, has also been introduced. Across the escalators and a wide corridor, a concept zone featuring pop-up shops, equivalent to the first-floor stage at Isetan Shinjuku, will create a lively atmosphere. The opening will see the debut of "Cat's ISSUE," a merchandise store in collaboration with cat-loving creators, which previously opened at the Shinjuku store. Among the retail tenants will be Tomorrowland's new concept shop for men's and women's wear, "Galerie Vie White," making its national debut. The men's and women's wear complex will feature brands such as Save Khaki United, Aspesi, Bonjour Records, and Porter Classic. Men's brands include "SOF," "DENHAM," and "45R," while lifestyle goods brand Hayashi Bussan's new brand "Prize" and fragrance brand Diptyque are opening their first stores in the Tokai region.

The dining area in the former Dai Nagoya Building was limited to the first basement floor, but this time dining has been expanded from the first basement floor to the third floor. The area will be home to a number of new establishments, including Nakameguro's Mizutaki Shimizu, a new Nagoya Cochin oyakodon restaurant, Tori Shimizu, California's Michelin-starred chef David Myers' Saltwater, California diner E.A.T. Aoyama, and cafe/grocery Charlie's, all opening for the first time in the Tokai/Nagoya area. It will also include new establishments from local restaurants, including Taichafukuno, which serves sea bream chazuke, Corey's, which serves Nagoya specialties like ankake spaghetti, Chinese restaurant Laporte, Nagoya Bincho, which serves hitsumabushi, local kappo restaurant Yamatora, Nikuya Daizen, a yakiniku restaurant run by a local butcher, and Italian restaurant Trattoria Fratelli Gallura. This is sure to become a hot new attraction in front of Nagoya Station.

Text: Noda Tatsuya