FAMILIES : Nordstrom Restroom Serves ‘New Shopper’

The new Nordstrom in Santa Anita Fashion Park has brought family values to that most intimate domain: the bathroom.

Catering to the mom or dad with tots in tow, the store, which opened last Friday, offers not just men’s and women’s rooms, but also a new “family bathroom,” a large, private restroom with toilet, changing table, diaper dispenser and a lowered, child-height sink. The Arcadia store is the third Nordstrom to have one; stores in Maryland and Oregon already do.

“Where the idea came from was a recognition of the new shopper,” said Nordstrom spokeswoman Caroline Brown. “It could be a parent shopping with a child of the opposite sex, who’s too old to go in the opposite-sex restroom, too young to go in the (same-sex) restroom alone.”

It’s also fully accessible to the disabled, said Steve Dwoskin, the architect who designed it.

“It’s more comfortable and convenient, if that person has difficulty using regular toilet facilities, they can go with their attendant,” he said.

And it will ease the hassle for parents juggling diapers and strollers with shopping bags.

“I think there are more families shopping together,” he said. “Years ago, you didn’t see diaper-changing tables; parents just had to make do. Now you see more changing tables, and the family toilet room is the next step in convenience. . . . I think that when you’re shopping with children, it’s a necessity, and it’s something that customers have asked for.”

But Nordstrom shoppers exploring the store on opening day weren’t quite sure what it was.

“What is a family bathroom? What is it?” demanded one confused mother of two young boys as she searched for the restrooms. Then, warily, she added: “I don’t know, I’d have to see. That might be kind of cute.” One man, shopping alone, didn’t get it.

“Where’s the men’s room?” he asked. “Well, it says ‘family bathroom’ right here; I guess that’s close enough.”

Lily Cooper shied away from the unfamiliar facility, wheeling her 3 1/2-year-old son toward the women’s restroom instead.

“I felt awkward because it was a family bathroom,” she said. “I was just going to use the ladies’ room.”

Then she relented and decided to give it a try. Five minutes later she emerged with high praise, her son straggling behind.

“I love the changing thing” and the diaper dispenser, she raved. “He’s still having a blast with the sink; he loves it, because he was able to wash his hands by himself.”