333 North

We took a trip downtown today to visit 333 (that's pronounced "tree turty tree") North Michigan Avenue, home of the new Blackhawks store. The store is very bright, flashy and spacious unlike the old store that was dark, dingy and crowded. While I didn't check numbers, I believe they had a Jersey on the wall for each of the active players. There was plenty of staff walking around to help answer any question you might have and even someone at the front of the store greeting you and wishing you well when you left.

So herein lies the rub. I was actually looking for a backpack that I saw online. I asked one of the wandering clerks who informed us that they, indeed, had none. We were informed that they were tying to be more of a boutique store. Wha, huh! I thought this was "THE" Blackhawks store. A boutique store? Boutique, scmootique. Bring back the old dingy store loaded with all the chotchkies, random shirts, hat and gloves an the occasional autographed item. I used to love scanning around the room and finding little treasures tucked away in the corners of the displays.

Keep the new larger store, but pack it to the gills with product and memorabilia rather than try to sell a small assortment of high end products.

My advice to you: Don't bother making a special trip to 333. Just stop by if you are in the neighborhood.

As an aside, we also went to the store in Oak Brook mall a couple of weeks ago. That store had much more to choose from. Maybe they did not have every jersey in stock, although they could have in the back, but they had a much larger selection. Oak Brook is worth the visit.