BlueStar® Announces Grand Opening of New Designer Showroom with Demo Kitchen at Chicagoland’s Abt Electronics

Impressive 1,000 Square-Foot Space Features BlueStar® Commercial-Style Appliances; Displays Showcase Product Innovations & Unparalleled Customization for Restaurant-Worthy Culinary Experiences at Home

Blandon, PA, December 10 — BlueStar®, manufacturer of high-performance appliances for the home — and a trailblazer in color and customization — announced the opening of a new showroom at Abt Electronics, one of the nation's largest independent electronics and appliance retailers, located in Glenview, IL. The experiential space features 18 BlueStar® products where home chefs can personally experience the power and design mastery of BlueStar® appliances.

"We are excited to collaborate with the team at Abt to help create this unique, interactive experience, and to imagine and build a space that allows us to welcome, educate and host groups and individuals who want to experience the power and innovation of our products," said BlueStar® President Eliza Sheffield.

Interior designer Ann von Kreuter of House & Home Design, Chicago, designed a non-traditional space that transports customers into a world that embraces an expression of personalized luxury. "I was inspired by the timeless cafes and bistros in Europe, where you can sit and linger with friends, sharing culinary delights. I wanted to create a gathering place with an energy encompassing the play of light, pattern, and color," said von Kreuter. The showroom’s deep blue walls, handcrafted appliances, exquisitely painted porcelain tiles, chandeliers, over-sized mirrors and banquette seating create a luxe, inviting ambience.

The center of the display is the Café kitchen that allows guests to experience firsthand BlueStar's chef-inspired features and high-performance functionalities. Featured products include a 60-inch Platinum Gas Range with interchangeable griddle/charbroiler and complimentary custom ventilation, shown in a rich, Steel Blue with Brushed Brass trim, along with Electric Wall Ovens in Signal White with shiny brass trim. Another vignette showcases the award-winning 36" built-in BlueStar® refrigerator in Matte Black with stainless steel trim with two addition wall ovens in stainless steel. Said von Kreuter, "There are so many wonderful possibilities. We were thrilled with BlueStar's custom abilities which allowed us to create beautifully balanced kitchens with color and vitality, using true, professional-level appliances."

BlueStar® is the only pro-style appliance brand to offer virtually unlimited options for personalization, including more than 1,000 colors and metal trims like brushed brass as well as highly customizable cooking surfaces, swing and French oven doors, and restaurant accessories like salamander broilers, charbroilers, Frenchtops and oversized ovens that fit commercial sheet pans. Consumers can design their own customized BlueStar® appliance online at "Build Your Own BlueStar". Designed and built in Pennsylvania since 1880, BlueStar® cooking, refrigeration and ventilation products are handcrafted for discerning home chefs who demand restaurant-quality results in their own kitchens. For more information, visit www.bluestarcooking.com or visit Abt Electronics, 1200 N Milwaukee Ave, Glenview, IL 60025.

Photo Cutlines:

• The BlueStar® Platinum Series offers unsurpassed power and performance for discerning home chefs who demand restaurant-quality results. Featuring industry leading 25,000 BTU open burners, plus an innovative Interchangeable Griddle/Charbroiler, the Platinum Series offers true European Convection PowR Oven™. BlueStar® products have been proudly handcrafted in Pennsylvania since 1880.
• The awarding-winning BlueStar® 36-inch French Built-In Refrigerator offers the largest capacity of any 36" Built-In French Door refrigerator in its class. It features stainless steel interiors — no plastic — dual compressors for enhanced food preservation and exceptionally roomy interiors. The flexible shelves handle large food trays or oversized cakes. A fully extending bottom shelf fits a full-size commercial sheet pan — as does the freezer — so extra-large pans prepped with pastries or hors d'oeuvres can go straight from refrigerator to oven. All BlueStar® cooking, refrigeration and ventilation products are handcrafted for discerning home chefs who demand restaurant-quality results in their own kitchens.
• The enhanced line of BlueStar® kitchen hoods feature a completely upgraded internal ventilation system with new, powerful baffle filters for high performance and quiet operation. The pro-style ventilation hoods combine heavy–duty construction with seamless design to offer uncompromised durability, functionality, and beauty. The refined internal design, with dimmable LED lights and new two-stage grease filtration system, offers ease of installation and service. The award-winning line includes high-performance gas ranges, cooktops, electric and gas wall ovens, complementary kitchen ventilation hoods and premium refrigeration.
• The BlueStar® Double Electric Wall Oven offers unmatched performance and capacity for the home chef. The powerful 2,500 watt bake element and the intense 5,000 watt infrared broiler provide restaurant-quality results every time. The 1800 watt heat assist element in the back of the cavity means faster preheating and less time waiting. Twelve different cooking modes including Bake, Convection Bake, Roast, Convection Roast, Broil, StoneBake™, Proof and Sabbath, provide numerous cooking options for unmatched versatility. A professional-quality, integrated artesian baking stone can used to create perfectly crisp breads and pizza which can be cooked right on top of the baking stone for restaurant style results. The stone mimics the conditions in brick ovens by absorbing heat from the oven to bake bread – and practically anything else – directly on top of the heat source. The built-in temperature probe on the baking stone helps insure perfect results every time.

###

About BlueStar®

Designed and built in Pennsylvania since 1880, BlueStar® cooking, refrigeration and ventilation products are handcrafted for discerning home chefs who demand restaurant-quality results in their own kitchens. The award-winning line includes high-performance gas ranges, cooktops, electric and gas wall ovens, complementary kitchen ventilation hoods and premium refrigeration. BlueStar® is the only pro-style appliance brand to offer virtually unlimited options for personalization, including more than 1,000 colors and trims as well as highly customizable cooking surfaces, swing and French oven doors, and restaurant accessories like salamander broilers, charbroilers, Frenchtops and oversized ovens that fit commercial sheet pans. Design a customized BlueStar® appliance online at "Build Your Own BlueStar". For general information, visit www.bluestarcooking.com.

About Abt Electronics

Abt Electronics was founded in 1936 when Jewel Abt loaned her husband Dave $800 to open a small electronics store in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. Abt has grown to become the largest independent, single-store retailer of electronics, appliances and home goods in the country. This third-generation family-run business (now run by Dave and Jewel’s four grandchildren, Mike, Ricky, Jon and Billy, who share the title of co-president) is known for its award-winning customer service from its team of more than 1,500 expert staff members. Its Glenview, Ill.-based location boasts a 114,000 square-foot showroom on 37 acres. The entire facility, including its continually expanding state-of-the-art warehouse, totals over 450,000 square feet. The company has been recognized by the Chicago Tribune as one of the Top Large Workplaces in Chicago for nine consecutive years, taking the No. 1 position in 2016, 2012 and 2011. Abt has become an influencer on a national scale thanks to its thriving ecommerce website where customers can receive advice and customer support through the site's live chat feature, email and toll-free phone number. Abt is known for being an eco-friendly business and has an award-winning green program that includes bio-diesel trucks, LED lights, a rooftop solar array, an irrigation system that uses renewable rainwater, and a generator that provides electricity for nine hours of the day. Abt also has an on-premises 12,000 square-foot recycling center that takes in over 8,500 tons of waste per year including 95 percent of the company’s own waste. In the center of the showroom is a beautiful atrium where customers gain access to its many boutique stores-within-a-store such as an Apple Boutique, a Connect Computer Store and a Candy Store. Abt is known for its weekend treats providing free, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and coffee for its customers every Saturday and Sunday afternoon. For more information, visit www.Abt.com.

About Ann von Kreuter

Ann von Kreuter House & Home, is a full-service boutique interior design firm, based in Winnetka, Illinois, that focuses on new construction and renovation of residential, hospitality and commercial projects. Ann works closely with her clients in thoughtful collaboration to create fresh and unique spaces that include timeless details, regardless of whether their design vernacular leans traditional, modern or anything in between. With over nineteen years of experience, her project locations can be found coast to coast including beautiful inviting homes, sprawling ranches, mountain retreats, beach front cottages, sky-scraping multi-unit dwellings, retail showrooms and corporate headquarters. Ann has a BS in Applied Mathematics, Ferris State University, and prides herself on her technical ability, balance of color, patterns and textures as well as in adding those little decorative surprises that make her projects come to life.