By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
FINANCIAL DISTRICT — Wall Street’s swanky shops are offering special deals Thursday night during downtown’s first-ever Luxury Night Out.
The BMW dealership on Wall Street is offering wine and cheese along with an early look at the new 5 Series models. La Maison du Chocolat is serving ganache and tastes of hot and cold chocolate drinks. Tiffany & Co. is showcasing a new collection of yellow diamond jewelry, along with hors d’oeurves and Bellinis from Cipriani.
Those who get tired of all the shopping (or eating) can take a break at the Setai Club & Spa on Broad Street, which will provide mini-reflexology sessions and champagne toasts.
Melissa Andreev, manager at La Maison on Wall Street, planned the event to entice shoppers to a neighborhood that often gets overlooked.
"Uptown had Fashion Night Out, but it never really reached down here," Andreev said. "We wanted to do something fun to showcase this area."
Luxury Night Out would have been impossible five years ago, as most of the 15 participating businesses are recent additions to the neighborhood.
BMW started the luxury wave by opening its Wall Street showroom in 2005, and high-end retailers like men's clothiers Thomas Pink and Canali as well as Tiffany.
The arrival of new high-end shops continued even during the recession, with Tourbillon Boutique and Capital Grille opening last year, and the Andaz Wall Street hotel debuting with a new bar and restaurant earlier this year.
"Lower Manhattan is a new kind of central business district, where residential life and tourism support the commercial sector," said James Yolles, spokesman for the Downtown Alliance business improvement district.
"That’s what we’ve seen along Wall and Broad streets: high-end retailers opening to cater not only to the financial industry but also to a residential population that has more than doubled since 2001 and an expanding tourist market."
Andreev recently started a group called the FiDi Association to unite the new businesses and connect with the community. In addition to holding another Luxury Night Out in the spring, she hopes to host guest speakers and sponsor fundraisers.
The Luxury Night Out deals will be available Thursday evening from 5 to 8 p.m., and some require an RSVP. More information is available here.
