Boldface October 1: A.D. Amorosi rounds up the local gossip

Jose and Beatriz Garces went to the pre-party in advance of the Oct. 29 gala for their Garces Foundation at one-time mayoral candidate Tom Knox and his wife Linda’s Two Liberty Place home.
Credit: Kevin O’Leary for Illuminada Photography

Philly starts its fall shopping season with several long-anticipated stores opening soon, including the 5,800-square-foot Timberland at 1709 Walnut, the Century 21 department store at the former Strawbridge’s on Market spanning 100,000 square feet over two floors, and a Nordstrom Rack at 1700 Chestnut. All three should be ready before Halloween.

But first up, Uniqlo celebrates its opening at 1608 Chestnut with an invitation-only shopping soiree tomorrow, a ribbon cutting for the public opening Friday at 10 a.m., and a community event Saturday at Smith Memorial Park Playground with a “From Tokyo to Philly” theme featuring Japanese dancers, drummers and DJ Questlove. Willow Grove, your Uniqlo opens Oct. 12, with no member of The Roots present.

Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian stopped by Cuba Libre Monday to show off a new “Do AC” commercial geared toward Philly tourists. Glass-half-full guy that he is, Guardian didn’t look at the closure of a handful of Atlantic City casinos as a death knell for his town. “I think this allows us to put less emphasis on gaming and more on the smaller entrepreneurs doing business in our town — restaurants, clubs and services, all the sort of places that Philly visitors will want to visit.”

Along with recently launching Ramen Sundays and a sushi menu, CoZara is hosting a National Sake Day dinner tonight, with the Drunken Zama sake label paired with Chef Chris Paulikas’ four courses.

Seen on the scene

Ethan Johns, son of producer Glyn Johns (Dylan, The Who) and a producer in his own right (McCartney) hit a snag playing World Cafe Live last Friday: a tiny crowd. Johns made lemonade by leaving the stage, hitting the floor and playing as if he was jamming around a campfire.

Adrian Grenier, star of “Entourage,” attended the Vendemmia Fest at South Philly’s Girard Park on Sunday. He’s made local stops when his Honey Brothers band played in town, but this stay seemed like a joyride from his Brooklyn home.