A Long Time Coming
Cartier's days at Galleria are numbered: Luxury jeweler plans temporary moves and big new store
Get the moving trucks rolling. After more than 16 years in the same Galleria retail space, Cartier is decamping to three different Houston locations in the next 24 months.
The luxury jeweler is leaving its longtime confines next to Chanel in the Neiman Marcus wing of the shopping mall on March 27 for the St. Regis Hotel where it will set up shop on March 28 while construction commences on a temporary store at 2031 Post Oak Blvd. in the Post Oak Centre (between Norris of Houston Day Spa and Jenni's Noodle House in a location previously occupied by the Dustin Mounts gunsmith shop).
Once the Post Oak space is complete, probably in late spring, Cartier will set up shop there for about a year while construction of a lavish permanent store takes place.
Officials declined to confirm the permanent location while details continue to be worked out, but real estate sources point to the River Oaks District mixed use complex currently under construction as the likely home for the new Cartier store. Dene Oliver, CEO of OliverMcMillan, the San Diego-based real estate firm that is developing the project at 4444 Westheimer, previously confirmed that Hermès and Tom Ford will be among the major tenants. Diane von Furstenberg, Roberto Cavalli and Dior are also among the high-end names rumored to be eyeing the center.
The permanent Cartier store is scheduled to open in the summer of 2015.
Cartier officials said the phone number (713-871-0177) will remain the same across all locations and that the Houston staff is committed to "providing the highest level of service" during the moves.
Cartier relocated to the Galleria in 1998 from The Pavilion, a shopping center on Post Oak Boulevard that was torn down a few years ago to make way for the BLVD. Place mixed-use complex currently under construction.