Carson's Store In Louis Joliet Mall To Close: Reports

JOLIET, IL - The Carson's store at the Louis Joliet Mall, which has been an anchor store at the mall for decades, is on the chopping block for the retail outlets being closed across the country by Bon-Ton Stores. The USA TODAY published a long list of stores that could close as part of the company's going out of business plan. The Joliet Carson's store at 3340 Mall Loop Drive was on the list, as were several other stores around Illinois.

To read the entire list and the national story, go here. Meanwhile, The Joliet Herald-News also published its own story informing its readers that the Carson's will be shutting down.

This is a double-whammy. Just weeks ago, Toys R Us announced plans to shut down its operations, including its Toys R Store on the edge of the Louis Joliet Mall property, across from the Sears store.

City of Joliet Economic Development Director Steve Jones spoke with Joliet Patch on Wednesday afternoon and said that the official word of Carson's closing as part of the national retail chain's decision was not at all surprising. However, it is the second piece of bad news in recent weeks, following the closing of the Toys R Us store, he noted. However, he expects many of the Carson's customers will shift their shopping habits and start using the Macy's store at the Louis Joliet Mall.

"From the shopper's perspective, there will still be one major store for goods, services and clothing," Jones told Patch.

"The challenge becomes filling that space. It's now up to this mall to try to reinvent themselves in times as retail starts to shrink. The strength of the Louis Joliet Mall is there. How could they solidify that space into more entertainment based (uses) or specialty shops."

Jones said the Louis Joliet Mall remains vibrant even in light of the Carson's closing, but the mall will have to figure out a solid game plan to make the best long-term use of the Carson's space once that store shutters. Jones also pointed out that while the mall still operates a Sears store, that national retail chain has also been struggling and downsizing as well.

As far as the news of Carson's closing, Jones said, "this was no surprise. It was not just something that came out of the blue. The key for the mall management is, what do you do with this kind of challenge?"

Joliet Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.

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