New mall offers adorable refuge

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By SANDRA THOMPSON

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 13, 2001

I was eating gumbo at Mott & Hester, a deli in South Tampa, reading the New York Observer, and thinking that no publication has ever seemed so irrelevant when I realized that's why I haven't written about International Plaza.

It's not like I haven't been there.

And it's not that I don't like it.

I do, even though I don't like malls. Or at least I didn't. But I was finally coming around -- light years after the rest of the world. Even in cities, if they're like Tampa, malls are where the people are. A suburban creation, they're still about the only place we can have an urban experience -- walk from place to place, see and talk to people we don't know and may never see again. So it has a roof over it, big deal.

Actually, while the sport of shopping has seemed irrelevant in the month since Sept. 11, I have found International Plaza a sort of gift, really, a place to go and remind myself that the world outside terror and utter seriousness still exists.

Granted, mostly I have been with my husband to try the new restaurants.

One Sunday evening, after a scary day of reading the newspapers, we went to the California Pizza Kitchen. The place was slammed, there was a line, so we chose to eat at the bar.

Waiters were hustling, it was loud and lively, a tonic for the times. An attractive woman in her 40s, I'd say, was sitting next to me, having dinner alone -- or almost. Her daughter kept reappearing, as did her cell phone.

We started talking -- about the food, at first. She offered me a Thai dumpling, which I accepted; she declined a bite of my grilled pear and Gorgonzola pizza.

She looked like a serious shopper, maybe even the kind our country needs to save the economy. So I wanted to get her take on International Plaza.

She's from Hunter's Green -- ah, diversity! I'd never met anyone from there before.

"I'm close to Citrus Park, WestShore Plaza and International Plaza," she said. "I'll shop at all three."

She liked the Charles Jourdan store (shoes with prices as high as their heels) but hadn't seen the shoes at Neiman Marcus, and the jury was out on where she'd buy St. John Knits -- the IP store hadn't opened yet -- here or Saks.

So she wasn't about to desert her old favorites for the new mall.

But I am.

Of course I have to wait to see if I can afford anything. When I walked into the first store, Nordstrom, I was paralyzed. No 40-percent-off signs to point the way!

I go for ambiance. To me, part of the shopping experience is to be in a place that is lovely. And the Nordstrom store itself is very, very nice: interesting lamps and display pieces, little conversation areas to sit, a ladies lounge like the old ones -- plenty of comfy chairs, a calm place to rest -- a restaurant, Cafe Bistro, and Ebar, their Starbucks-like coffee spot at the entrance. All hip and new, bright colors.

Neiman Marcus is gorgeous. I may just ride the escalator to see the faux butterflies hanging from the top. Contemporary art -- stuff that looks like real art, not decorator's art -- is strategically placed throughout the store.

Cole Haan is almost too cool and minimalist, but it definitely makes a statement. If I could, I would buy everything at BCBG Max Azria. And a spare little store called SEE has terrific, unusual eyeglasses.

What I like most about International Plaza, though, are the places to just be. Scattered throughout the mall are small sitting areas with comfortable chairs, carpets, even lamps. And with Starbucks at one end of the mall and Ebar at the other, you have a choice of places to sit and sip without ever having to enter a food court.

I had a cup of tea at Ebar, and a madeleine (75 cents) in honor of Proust.

-- Sandra Thompson is a writer who lives in Tampa. She can be reached at tampa@sptimes.com. City Life appears on Saturday.

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