RH Oak Brook opening with luxury shopping and dining
RH, the brand formerly known as Restoration Hardware, is pulling out all the stops for selling its lines of luxury home furnishing in suburban Chicago.
RH Oak Brook is opening Friday at 1300 22nd St. with a morning ceremony featuring Village President Gopal G. Lalmalani and other local officials.
Fully billed as "RH Oak Brook, The Gallery at Oakbrook Center," the custom-built, three-story building is filled with furniture showrooms and capped by a year-round rooftop restaurant and bar.
"What we've created here is an inspiring and immersive experience that blurs the lines between residential and retail, indoors and outdoors, home and hospitality," said RH Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary Friedman in a statement.
RH previously made a grand entrance in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood in 2015 with a 70,000 square-foot flagship location at 1300 N. Dearborn St. RH renovated the landmarked Three Arts Club of Chicago building into meticulously styled furnishing "galleries," along with a cafe and wine tasting room and a rooftop garden.
"The response we hear the most from customers when they shop our new galleries is, 'I want to live here,'" Friedman said.
RH Oak Brook is slightly smaller at 60,000 square feet for its showrooms. It also doesn't come with the built-in architectural history as RH Chicago.
Nonetheless, the suburban gray structure still projects its luxury products from its exterior - glassy boxed chandeliers punctuate the facade.
RH Oak Brook was a hive of activity during a pre-opening tour on Tuesday. Some workers were washing windows on cranes. Others raked the rooftop courtyard pebbles into parallel alignment with pathways.
The public relations team leading the tour did not disclose how much RH Oak Brook cost, nor were they allowed to be quoted on the record about the new building.
Still, they did tout that customers are allowed to shop the collections such as "RH Modern" and "RH Outdoor" while sipping from a glass of wine. It also was suggested that diners make online restaurant reservations up to 30 days in advance.
"We believe in creating immersive spaces that activate all of the senses," Friedman said. "These new galleries and the integrated hospitality experience position our brand for the RH of the future."