Burton Snowboards made a splash in the Great Lakes region this week with the grand opening of their Burton Flagship Store in Chicago. The choice to strengthen Burton’s presence in Chicago was a natural one as demand for the brand in the territory has continued to increase over the last several years. The new store welcomes Chicago to the growing presence of flagship stores already in NYC, Burlington, Innsbruck and Tokyo. Burton pro riders Jeremy Jones, Keir Dillon, Mason Aguirre, Hannah Teter, Elena Hight and Molly Aguirre came into town to check out the new store along with Jake Burton.

The new store, located on 56 Walton Street East in the heart of the Chicago shopping district and just steps from the Magnificent Mile, was the only place yesterday where you could find fresh snow on the ground east of the Rockies. For now, it was man made but served as a teaser for what is just around the corner.

At the VIP in-store reception, there was a diverse crowd in attendance ranging from Chicago Cubs ball players, TV personalities to snowboard legends like Joe Curtes and others. The four-story tall store made for great mingling with guests able to peruse floors’ designated to hardgoods, men’s outerwear, women’s outerwear and another just for the kids. Keir Dillon played Guitar Hero with the kids while Jeremy Jones was grilled by the local shredders about where to find the jibs in the area that he has slaughtered over the years.

Burton followed up the opening with a huge public celebration that took place at the Sound Bar with Pace Rock (1/2 of Spank Rock) and Gravis DJ, Kid Millionaire (Steve Aoki) for close to a thousand people. The riders and crew kept things going until late in the night – they’re already looking forward to coming back to Chicago in two weeks for the Burton World Tour stop on October 3, when they will premiere the new Burton movie, “Thanks In Advance”.

Next time you’re in the Windy City, be sure to check out Burton’s new Chicago store, open seven days a week at 56 E. Walton Street.