L.A. gets another Barneys

Sort of. It's Barneys New York Co-Op, which opens at The Grove next month and offers more casual apparel and accessories than the original Barneys - and supposedly aimed for a younger market. (Younger than the Barneys in Bev Hills? Now that's depressing.) It will be a pretty small space - just 9,000 square feet towards the west end of the center (where the Amadeus Spa used to be). For the less-than-hip, the Co-Op began as a department within the regular Barneys New York, but is now a freestanding concept in several locations, including Costa Mesa. Here are some details on The Grove location, courtesy of California Apparel News:

The Grove’s Co-Op will be divided into two floors. A dedicated women’s store will greet customers on the first floor. A staircase will lead up to a dedicated men’s store on the second floor. The Grove Co-Op’s décor will feature whimsical line paintings by a yet-to-be-announced artist. The general ambiance of the store will be familiar to those who have visited the the Barneys New York Co-op in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C. “It’s an evolution, not a revolution,” Neu said of the décor guided by Barneys’ vice president of store design, Philippe Hum.

I can never get enough of those whimsical line paintings. Also opening at The Grove this spring is a Michael Kors store (that's the “Project Runway” designer), eyewear boutique Davante and beauty retailer Fresh. Grove developer Rick Caruso claims a 100 percent occupancy at the center.