Nordstrom opens at Santa Monica Place on Friday

Nordstrom Inc. will open its 115th full-line store Friday at the newly remodeled Santa Monica Place shopping center.

To celebrate the opening, the upscale department store chain threw a lavish gala Wednesday that drew about 1,500 people. Singer Michael Buble performed hits "Home" and "Haven't Met You Yet" for a crowd of well-heeled customers, who dined on passed hors d'oeuvres, cocktails and desserts and checked out the latest fall fashions worn by live models. 

The three-level, 122,000-square-foot store is one of two anchors at Santa Monica Place. It will feature the chain's third Blue Stove restaurant, a small plates/tapas-style concept.

In an interview with The Times, Erik Nordstrom, president of stores, said the company was looking forward to joining the lineup at Santa Monica Place, which reopened Aug. 6 after two years and $265 million in remodeling costs.

"We felt what was going on there was something pretty special and exciting and something we wanted to be a part of," he said. "Santa Monica is a fantastic market, and we know we have a lot of customers there."

The store opens to the public at 10 a.m. Friday. To celebrate, a "beauty bash" will be held for customers outside the store's first- and second-floor mall entrances at 8 a.m. More than 500 Nordstrom beauty advisors and industry experts will be offering complimentary beauty lessons and skin-care and fragrance consultations.

Santa Monica Place is located at 395 Santa Monica Place, adjacent to the Third Street Promenade.

-- Andrea Chang

Photos: (Top) Shoppers at Nordstrom's pre-opening gala at Santa Monica Place. (Bottom) Live models at Nordstrom's pre-opening gala. Credits: WireImage

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