Sarasota may be known by tourists as an ideal holiday spot for our top-of-the-line beaches. Now, there is a new tourist hot spot taking over: Nordstrom Rack.

Nordstrom Rack is Nordstrom’s official off-price clearance store. Nordstrom is a high-end department store on par with Macy’s or Lord and Taylor. It originally began as a shoe store. The store’s rack subsidiary started in the basement of a Seattle store in 1975. Originally the basement was just the clearance department, but since then it has flourished into its own division.

Nordstrom rack has reached 49 retailers in 18 states. The store  is one of the only places where you can save up to 70% off of high-quality designer clothes and shoes. If you’re a shoe lover, you’ll be interested to know that they have up to 25,000 pairs of shoes for men, women, and children. The merchandise is organized and the sizes have a much larger range than many other low-cost stores.

Nordstrom Rack opened last month with a whopping 500 shoppers at the opening bell. They even lined up outside of the store for over three hours! Those who have visited the new shopping center gave great feedback about the store.

I waited for a couple days for the rush to die down and found myself with a full cart of merchandise from the new retail store. Although I may have accidentally bought two left boots, Nordstrom Rack most definitely lived up to my expectations.

“I have not been yet, but I am highly anticipating the first time I go,” said Junior, Joie Eckhard.

Sophomore Balia Bangoura said, “It was incredible because everything is cheap including the wide selection of shoes. I could stay in there for hours, but I only bought a crop top.”

Senior Ashley Monroe said, “Nordstrom Rack is much better than Marshalls or TJ Maxx because the way they set it up is more organized and makes it easier to find what you’re looking for.”

In October of 2014, another mall will be opening up just across University Parkway hoping to turn this now busy area into a more commercial shopping center.

Nordstrom Rack is sure to attract its share of shoppers even as tourists flock to the new mall. If you haven’t checked it out yet, beat the new mall rush and get to “the Rack.”