Arlington Heights hotel liquidation brings out bargain hunters
Claire Vargas loves to hunt for bargains; she’s always on the prowl at garage sales, estate sales and flea markets.
So it was no surprise that she stopped at the old Sheraton Chicago Northwest hotel in Arlington Heights on Tuesday, the first day of the hotel’s “everything must go” liquidation sale.
“I generally find at least one great thing whenever I go to a sale like this,” said Vargas, a Rolling Meadows resident. “And I enjoy looking. I enjoy the hunt.”
The Sheraton Northwest, on Euclid Avenue in Arlington Heights, closed its doors in 2009. A plan to convert the building into a luxury apartment complex will be discussed at an Arlington Heights committee meeting Wednesday night.
In the meantime, everything inside the building is being sold off. Yes, that means everything — barstools, chairs, beds, phones, coffee pots, wastebaskets, tissue dispensers, floor lamps, dishes, file cabinets and much, much more.
“We probably have more than 20,000 items for sale,” said Bill Melvin, CEO of Liquid Asset Partners, a Michigan-based company handling the liquidation. “That includes 2,000 lamps, 400 irons, 600 beds. And we’ll be here until it’s all gone.”
Melvin said most items tend to be bought during the first two weeks of a liquidation.
“It probably isn’t the best idea to wait too long,” he said.
Arlington Heights resident Lisa Green was measuring a wood bed frame at the hotel on Tuesday.
“I drove by and figured I’d take a look,” she said. “You can usually find something good at sales like this. I’m going to look at what they have today and then maybe come back later to buy.”
Palatine resident Cindy Eich had her eye on a number of wall mirrors stacked on one of the tables. When told they were $15 each, she looked at them for a moment and said she would think about it.
“I’m a Realtor,” Eich said, “and I’m looking for some staging items for homes — artwork, plants, decorations, things we can add to a house before showing it. I’m hoping I can find a few things here.”
Melvin said bargain-hunters are encouraged to negotiate the price of items.
“The bottom line is, we want all this stuff out the door, so we will listen to offers,” he said.
Shelly Tomczak of Schaumburg was browsing the sale room Tuesday. She said it was a little eerie to see all the usual items one sees at a hotel lined up and stacked for sale.
“I saw the coffee cups and thought, ‘Wow, I’ve drunk coffee out of thousands of those cups over the years!’ It’s a funny sight. I’ll probably end up buying something before I leave, but right now I’m not hunting for anything specific.”
The Sheraton Northwest is at 3400 E. Euclid, Arlington Heights. The liquidation sale will continue from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day (noon to 5 p.m. Sundays) until the items are sold. For more information, go to liquidassetpartners.com.