'Reinvented' Carson's Set For Black Friday Debut

EVERGREEN PARK, IL -- The revived Carson’s store at Evergreen Plaza is preparing for its Black Friday debut on Nov. 23. Doors open at 7 a.m. and door prizes will be handed out to the first 100 purchasers, along with deep discounts on store merchandise. A peek through the windows revealed employees setting up toys, jewelry and housewares. The back of the store was curtained off.

The existing Carson’s standalone store at the rebooted Evergreen Plaza opened in 2016 at 9700 W. Western Ave. The store was intended to be a prototype for future stores to come, but the Chicago-born retailer shuttered all of its stores under the Bon-Ton banner earlier this year. Carson’s stores in Evergreen Park, Orland Park and Chicago Ridge underwent mass liquidation sales including store fixtures and mannequins over the summer. (SUBSCRIBE: Get Real-Time Alerts and a Daily Newsletter for Evergreen Park.)

In October, it was announced that the Evergreen Park Carson’s store would be coming back, after Merrillville, IN-based Bon-Ton Holdings Inc. bought the intellectual property of Carson’s and six other Bon-Ton store brands for $900,000 in a bankruptcy court-supervised auction. Bon-Ton Holdings Inc. is a subsidiary of CSC Generation, which touts itself as a "decentralized, multi-brand technology platform that is saving companies from Amazon."

The new owners hope to reinvent Carson’s as a new concept store, blending brick and mortar with online shopping. CSC also owns Direct Buy, a buying membership that functions mainly as an e-commerce site, which is handling Carson's online trade.

Carson’s veteran Lisa Beardsley who’s been brought back to manage the Evergreen Park store, promised that the re-envisioned Carson’s would not forget its brand-loyal customers.

“In 2008, I opened the first Carson’s Furniture Gallery in Orland Park. Through the financial crisis, my resourceful team switched their focus to growing internet sales, which they ran from our store. Their focus, dedication and fighting spirit was humbling and something I won’t forget. Our valued customers have been with us from generation to generation, united and loyal to the iconic Carson’s name and I intend to continue earning that loyalty every day.”

Carson’s will be open for retail walk-in retail from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday and Monday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The store is open for online order pick-up Tuesday and Wednesday.

~ Photos by Patch Editor Lorraine Swanson