Bars, Brunches and Bridal Parties: The Stores Going All Out with Hospitality

The 21st-century jewelry store looks less like a traditional showroom and more like an inviting social club, complete with lounges, bars and spaces designed for lingering. From rooftop additions to speakeasy-style vaults and French garden-inspired seating areas, jewelers are reimagining their stores as destinations where clients can connect and celebrate meaningful moments. These store owners understand that the most valuable transactions often begin with a conversation over a drink, in a comfortable chair, away from the showcases. 

Putting the customer at ease 

Reeds Jewelers has made hospitality a cornerstone of its retail philosophy, particularly in its Landmark stores, a designation the company reserves for a handful of larger locations that represent its updated retail concept. Its first Landmark location is a 9,000-square-foot store in Wilmington, North Carolina, where TVs disappear into custom millwork and customers come weekly not just to shop, but to hang out. The store features a bar area with integrated iPads where customers can browse custom design ideas while they relax. The newest Landmark, a 7,800-square-foot store at the Fenton shopping area in Cary, North Carolina, opened in December 2025 with a centrally located lounge. 

“We’ve found that when customers feel at ease, they’re more open to exploring their options and having meaningful conversations about significant purchases,” says Genna Zimmer, vice president of Reeds, who handpicked the furniture for the Cary lounge herself to ensure it fit the modern vibe while still being comfortable. 

The sentiment echoes across the industry. At Ylang 23’s store in Dallas, Texas, which debuted in 2024, Maori Hughes, president of MAOarch Architecture, drew inspiration from a French garden to create a space with three distinct lounge areas: a formal table for dinners and lunches, a bar area, and an inviting seating area. 

“When we built our new store, we wanted to welcome the idea of just hanging out,” says owner Alysa Teichman. “There’s a lot that can be intimidating about a jewelry store. If you can transcend the customer relationship to go deeper, that’s a really powerful thing.” 

The store caters to self-purchasing women, and the multiple seating areas allow them to bring companions along. “It’s a lovely place, and being able to sit with a client in that kind of context creates more intimacy,” she adds. 

The full treatment 

Charles Dixon, president of Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, oversaw construction of an entire second floor to create an event and private-sales space. In designing the space, store designers James Dallman and Grace La drew inspiration from boutiques in major metropolitan cities while staying true to the store’s midwestern roots. 

The addition goes well beyond a traditional lounge, featuring a dining room, kitchen, patio and full bathroom. Dixon uses it to host intimate client dinners catered by local chefs, as well as trunk shows, bridal parties and engagement-ring consultations. But some of the most successful events haven’t focused on jewelry at all. Dixon describes a recent car club event where Ferraris, Maseratis and Porsches parked in front of the store while attendees enjoyed brunch upstairs. He’s also hosted a whiskey tasting and a “Women and Wine” event. 

“All three of these events did not feature any jewelry or watches,” Dixon says. “We look at them as investments in goodwill and PR, where [clients] felt invited to an exclusive event that didn’t mean we were going to make them feel compelled to buy something right then and there in front of their peers.” 

‘It creates a buzz’ 

The community-focused approach has exceeded expectations at Brockhaus Jewelry in Norman, Oklahoma, where owner Brad Shipman insisted from the first design meeting that the store include a generous multifunctional space. It opened in 2024 with a 600-square-foot mezzanine outfitted with modern furniture and cutting-edge lighting, a giant TV wall, a conference table and a wet bar. The area overlooks the main retail showroom. 

The store welcomes all manner of organizations to use the space, and word has spread quickly. “We are overwhelmed by both the community appreciation and the demand for this space, whether it’s for nonprofit boards, local clubs or private parties,” Shipman says. 

The difference between the previous store, which Brockhaus inhabited for 22 years, and the spacious 7,000-plus-square-foot version is like night and day, he adds. “It’s going from grandma’s house to new and improved. It’s crazy. When you upgrade like we did, it creates a buzz, and people want to be here.” 

Into the vault 

Since the team at Richter & Phillips Jewelers in Cincinnati, Ohio, converted an Art Deco-era basement bank vault into a speakeasy-style space in 2021, it’s become central to the store’s hospitality strategy. Marketing and events director Rebecca Schaeper carried out her vision to drape the interior in rich velvets and fit it with glass shelves and gold and brass accents. 

The intimate, flexible space serves purposes beyond private appointments. Nonprofit partners regularly use it for fundraisers, board meetings and donor-appreciation events.  

Vines in the Vault, a private wine-tasting experience for up to eight guests, is a popular prize for Richter & Phillips to donate to silent auctions and raffles. “It’s been incredibly well received as an engaging, fun and meaningful way to support our community while also introducing new guests to the store through a memorable, hospitality-driven experience,” Schaeper says. “On more than one occasion, those evenings have led to spontaneous purchases.” 

Over the past year, the vault has evolved into a cornerstone for private shopping experiences with thoughtful touches, such as a fresh bouquet for an anniversary presentation or a candle-topped cup of ice cream from locally based chain Graeter’s for an impromptu birthday party. 

Rooted in tradition 

Some retailers draw on their own heritage for inspiration. The Oak Room at Sissy’s Log Cabin in Memphis, Tennessee, exemplifies this approach. CEO Bill Jones has turned what was supposed to be a basic meeting room in the original plans into a private lounge reminiscent of his own home library. 

The space features local artwork, distinctive furniture, and lockers for VIP customers’ personal liquor stashes. The Oak Room maintains the traditional character that defined the brand for generations, even with Sissy’s owners in the process of modernizing the stores’ overall look. The concept proved so successful that the company is replicating it in its new Little Rock, Arkansas, location, says store designer Jesse Balaity, owner of Balaity Property Enhancement. 

Tapper’s Jewelry in Novi, Michigan, fuses hospitality with local pride. Mark’s Bar, named for company owner Mark Tapper, offers Michigan craft beers on tap and Michigan-made snacks. The Treated by Tapper’s program offers gifts for special occasions, including champagne flutes, beer mugs and a child’s first necklace. Multiple private shopping areas allow guests to browse or purchase in whatever way feels most comfortable. 

Lounge feel 

In Houston, Texas, deBoulle Diamond & Jewelry demonstrates how hospitality can unify distinct retail spaces. The 3,500-square-foot store is divided into three areas, each of which has private hospitality suites. At the heart of the store is a shared bar where clients can enjoy a drink. Owners Denis and Karen Boulle say their priority has always been to make clients feel at home. In 2020, architect and design firm Gensler renovated their Dallas flagship, which now looks and feels like a glamorous living room. Next to the fireplace in the 9,000 square-foot showroom, customers relax in a cozy lounge and enjoy a bar stocked with premium liquors.  

Elsewhere in Houston, the Zadok family has configured the floor plan of Zadok Jewelers’ flagship to include intimate seating areas and bars within branded boutiques. The resulting privacy can make customers feel like they are the only people in the 18,000-square-foot store. The luxurious Nina Magon Lounge, named for its designer, serves as the store’s larger event space. Owner Jonathan Zadok says the family has always thought of the store as an extension of its living room, and no one wanted that to change, even in such a large space.  

Main image: Lounge at deBoulle Diamond & Jewelry in Houston, Texas. (deBoulle Diamond & Jewelry)