The grand opening of Canberra's first Uniqlo store is imminent. It's been a long time coming, and the anticipation has us reminiscing about some of the other big openings we've had in Canberra over the years.
Here are the top 10, ranked by how definitively they put the capital on the map.
11. Uniqlo
We've always maintained that the circle wouldn't be complete until we got a Uniqlo, and as of Thursday, the circle will finally be closed. Is this a good thing? I mean, it's nice to get out of Canberra every now and again to hit the shops. Now we don't have to ever again. The unexplained departure of Muji sure did sting, but it's but a distant memory as this far bigger anonymous-looking Japanese clothing chain is set to remind us all how it's done. Need a black sweater? Sorted. Some affordable jeans that look like they could be expensive? Organised. T-shirts in every colour, corduroy shorts (a thing this season), linen dresses, cashmere cardigans, a $20 cross-body bag that is apparently roomy enough to pack in everything including the kitchen sink? Checkity check.
10. Jamie's Italian
It may be remembered today more for its unceremonious closing, but Jamie's Italian was actually a huge deal when it opened here in 2013. The loveable chain named for the loveable British chef already had around 30 branches around Australia and two others in Australia by the time its opening day drew near in late 2013. Jamie's HQ was so secretive and controlling that details such as the menu, decor and even the actual opening day were tightly held secrets, driving the Canberra Times' then food and wine editor Kirsten Lawson to distraction. Once it finally did open its vast, chandeliered space, it proved a bona fide hit with pasta lovers and families, thanks to the extensive range of pasta, salads in jars, antipasto platters propped up on tins of tomatoes, and little red view masters for kids to choose their meals. The place had a few good years, before closing, seemingly without warning, in 2018. It was the first sign of trouble to come for the Jamie Oliver brand. We were just grateful to have been blessed, however briefly, with his cheerful aura.
9. Messina
What is it about Canberra and ice cream? For a city famed for its frosty winters, we sure do punch above our weight when it comes to our love of ice cream. There are at least half-a-dozen notable outlets that have set up shop here, and Messina has to be up there in terms of street cred and enduring popularity. It could be to do with its premium location, on Lonsdale Street in the heart of Braddon, or maybe it's the signature 25 flavours and the chance to watch the ice cream being made through the "churners window" by the counter. But the place is always packed, and there's often a queue out the door on any given night of the week.
8. Muji
It wasn't nearly as buzzy as Zara, anticipated as Apple or hyped-up as Ikea (some spoilers of some ahead), but Muji hit a very particular mark when it opened here in 2018. And that mark was a kind of anti-everything-that-came-before, with minimalist decor, pared back products and no-name clothing. That's literally clothing with no labels - Muji is Japanese for "no name". The idea was that the wearer's innate good taste needed no broadcasting, it simply ... existed. And so, the madly popular Japanese clothing and homewares store did - exist, that is. A useful staple for those wanting fussy, uncomplicated, ever-so-slightly-Japanese linen, toothbrushes, storage containers, jeans or calico bags, it was a shock when news went out the store was closing, with no explanation. But there was at least fair warning, and a stellar clearout of those calming, minimalist shelves before the doors closed for good earlier this year.
7. Sephora
Yet another hotly anticipated addition to Canberra's burgeoning fashion line-up, all the more so because it had been delayed by COVID. More than 1000 people showed up on the opening day, some as early as 5am, to get in first to what the store sweetly branded its 21st, Canberra being the 21st Sephora outlet to open in Australia. The Canberra Centre's beauty offering has ebbed and flowed over the years, with several shopfronts in its much-vaunted beauty precinct quietly closing after only a couple of years. But Sephora, located just a few doors down from one of two Mecca outlets, has landed on its feet, with steady crowds, a steady thrum of incredibly loud music, bubbly staff and the ubiquitous black-and-white bags - always a dead giveaway that you too have succumbed to the overwhelming line-up of brands.
6. Costco
A late addition - how did I miss this one? Considering it's so big and all. But before anyone suggests that I'm too bougie to have considered it, I have been a proud member almost since it opened, if only for the cheap petrol. But in fact Costco is more than the very massive sum of its exceptionally huge offerings. Yes, it's the go-to for party-seized everything - bags of chips you could sleep in, vast trays of actually quite good sangas, huge jars of nutella, vats of spices. But consider also the entire cookware sets of premium brands, $50 bottles of Moet, Calvin Klein underwear and the occasional extra-special feature like five-packs of Moleskine notebooks. Consider that. Plus it's been a pleasure over the years watching it slowly but surely adjust to the Australian market. Where once there were Poptarts and SwissMiss hot chocolate, now there's Milo and Illy coffee.
5. Lego
"It's more than just a store. It's part store, part museum and part playroom," declared the general manager of Lego in Australia in the lead-up to the opening of Canberra's giant Lego store two years ago. Playroom being the operative word here, because isn't Lego really just a chance for us all to maintain contact with our inner children but in a seemingly legit way? How else to explain the long, exclusively adult queues out the door for at least a week after the 250-square-metre store opened? And still going strong, the familiar pull of the familiar colours beyond the familiar yellow entryway just an undeniable fact of life for kids and adults alike.
4. Zara
It was a long-awaited but bittersweet moment when Zara finally opened in the Canberra Centre. Instant access to reasonably priced, up-to-the-minute fast fashion? Hell yes! But now, when someone complimented you on your threads, you could no longer look coy and slightly apologetic when answering. It used to be, "Oh this? I got it in Europe last summer - at Zara". Since 2013, the answer is likely to be "At the Canberra Centre", which just doesn't carry the same glamorous cachet.
3. H&M
Another Swedish mainstay, this one was hotly anticipated mainly because, for reasons that are still unexplained, it opened in Wollongong - WOLLONGONG - before here, which was unacceptable, and we said so at the time. The grand opening was special because the crowd of more than 1400 people waiting to get in were treated to a DJ set while more than 100 H&M staff performed choreographed dances they'd been practicing for weeks. The place has been more or less packed ever since.
2. Apple
For a shop that, let's face it, really only sells about four products, the Apple store has exerted a strange force over Canberra ever since it opened in September, 2012. No longer did we Canberrans have to watch in bewilderment as queues formed outside distant, far-off Apple stores, heralding the arrival of the latest iPhone or Macbook. We could form our very own tech-conscious and good-design-loving queues right here in the Canberra Centre! And we've been loving it ever since. The headphoned chaperone meeting us at the entry, shepherding through the confusing displays of phones, laptops and ... more phones, the stylishly dressed tech nerds ready to answer our stupid questions and, yes, the inevitable queues each time a new product drops. It's made us part of the world, you know? The world that Apple runs and we, since 2012, just live in.
1. Ikea
By 2015, we had Apple and we had Zara, but were we truly a city without the Swedish homewares behemoth? No we were not. Did we finally become a real city once said blue-and-yellow giant finally opened? Yes we did. It's also worth noting that this was no ordinary shop-in-a-mall arrival, but a very carefully mapped out campaign. Ikea doesn't just open anywhere, or fill up its vast labyrinthine rooms with just any old stuff. Well ahead of the opening at Majura, a team converged on the capital and visited close to 130 Canberra families to find out what products they wanted to see in the store. Local furniture stores fretted - quite rightly - about the effect Ikea would have on business, while some businesses, like the enterprising couple who had been doing Ikea runs between Sydney and Canberra for years (and charging a premium for the convenience) disappeared altogether. The grand opening day on November 16, 2015 came with special roadblocks and signage, guidance from the Canberra Airport about navigating said roads to make their flights on time, special buses travelling from the city centre to the Majura store, live music and meatballs, lots of meatballs.
