Carson's At Louis Mall: Is It Really Coming Back?

JOLIET, IL — It's been four years since the Louis Joliet Mall sustained a significant blow — the closing of its Carson's anchor store. The former Carson's store has remained empty ever since, but it's possible the property may make a comeback.

According to a recent story published in the Women's Wear Daily, a company started by Deepak Ramani called BrandX plans to relaunch several Bon-Ton and Carson’s stores, and that includes the Joliet Carson's store at the Louis Joliet Mall being open again in the spring of 2023.

Women's Wear Daily reported that Ramani plans to launch an online site this summer using the Bon-Ton name and then hoping to open a store under the name of Carson's next spring in Joliet.

The article noted that Ramani created the BrandX company and then purchased the names of several regional department stores that are no longer around: Bon-Ton, Bergner’s, Carson-Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Goody’s, Herberger’s, Peebles and Younkers.

“They all went out of business, which was very unfortunate," Ramani told Women's Wear Daily. "The business model was fairly good, but the debt they had forced them into bankruptcy.”

Joliet Patch has reached out to the city of Joliet's new economic development director Cesar Suarez, who started his new job in late May after working for Peoria the past several years.

Patch also has left a message seeking comment from Louis Joliet Mall general manager Eric Loula.

Last year, Joliet Patch reported that the empty Carson's property at the Louis Mall was the focus of a second online auction set for November. According to the listing on LoopNet, the starting bid would begin at $500,000. The two-story building, constructed in 1978, encompasses more than 126,000 square feet of retail space.