A bar, certified bra fitters, and 1,000 jobs: the latest scoop on Nordstrom Pacific Centre

Nordstrom swung by the Straight with some details about what its Pacific Centre store, slated to open September 18, will look like and what its hiring schedule will be as it recruits hundreds of fashion-happy employees.

At 230,000 square feet, it's a flagship that's among the biggest across North America, said senior public relations manager John Bailey, meaning the store can carry more merchandise than the well-known company's regular outlets.

What also sets it apart from traditional Nordstrom department stores you've visited in the U.S., pointed out fashion PR specialist Jessica Canfield, is the fact that the design by Seattle's Callison Architecture, Inc. will have so much natural light. "It will be bringing a lot of the light into the store and, we hope, entice people in," she said, adding the layout will be a clean, open, and flexible space with a single-surface tile floor and light wood.

The store will also have three food outlets, including a full-service restaurant and "a bar with small bites", Bailey explained. Wine and appies between shoe-shopping and gift-hunting, anyone? The third is an espresso bar--known at Nordstrom as the "Ebar"--a necessity from any company hailing from Seattle, of course.

On Monday, the company started hiring dozens of managers from the community, intending to send them to Seattle's Nordstrom in May to train for seven weeks with experienced managers in each area. Then, in June, those managers return to hire about 1,000 new employees for the Pacific Centre store. Those employees will include everyone from certified bra fitters and shoe fitters to beauty consultants in the expansive cosmetics department.

The company recently announced Chris Wanlass, a 23-year company veteran, as the manager of its flagship store at Pacific Centre in Vancouver. 

The company, founded as a shoe store in 1901 in Seattle, opened its first Canadian stores in Calgary a year ago and Ottawa in March; three more are planned for Toronto in the fall of 2016. After that, Bailey said, get ready for bargain heaven: the company's insanely popular discount arm, Nordstrom Rack, is also to start opening across the country in 2017.

The new flagship is currently being constructed at the corner of Granville and Robson/Georgia streets in the old Sears and Eatons building.

Bailey and Canfield hinted opening festivities will include a big charity gala on September 16, and a beauty bash at breakfast time on the morning of the launch.