Bisnow was on the ground in Vegas at ICSC RECon this week, and in between talking to retail experts, we checked out the floor's biggest (and coolest) booths. To fit in as many dealmakers as possible, most of the big brokerages like Cushman & Wakefield (to the left), CBRE, JLL, and Newmark Grubb Knight Frank offered massive open-air setups. Big-time owners like GGP and Acadia Realty Trust, shown here, are going for a more enclosed, private feel. Over at the Cushman booth, the firm's Americas retail head Matt Winn told us placemaking is a popular topic among brokers and owners alike this year, and he says it's not just about sprucing up old shopping centers anymore; to survive, retail owners need to curate a healthy mix of hip local as well as tried-and-true national retailers.

Firms on the floor are all about placemaking too—especially in their own booths. Atlanta-based Jamestown went all out to welcome its guests with an exotic Indian-style tent, complete with a crepe station operated by Peter Tondreau and Troi Lughod of NYC's Bar Suzette (pictured hard at work in the back). Peter and Troi, whose Bar Suzette concept is a tenant in Jamestown's Chelsea Market, tell us they served 300 to 500 crepes every day of the conference.