Hobby Lobby opening at Gurnee Mills in early 2022

A new Hobby Lobby store will open early next year in a portion of the former Sears at Gurnee Mills mall in Gurnee, company officials announced this week.

The craft and home decor store will fill a 68,000-square-foot space at the mall and is expected to open in late January, according to the Oklahoma City-based retailer.

"The success of our stores in Illinois is a good indicator that Gurnee shoppers will be pleased with the quality, selection and value we offer in the craft and home decor market," Kelly Black, director of advertising, said in the announcement.

The store will bring about 35 to 50 jobs to the community, officials said.

In April, the Gurnee village board approved an incentive package worth up to $500,000 to defray mall owner Simon Property Group's costs to renovate the former Sears store, which closed in 2018.

According to the village, Simon planned to invest $2.5 million into carving the 200,000-square-foot Sears into three smaller spaces, for Hobby Lobby and two more yet-to-be determined tenants.

According to the company, Hobby Lobby has more than 900 locations across the country, including 40 in Illinois. Launched in 1970 as a miniature picture frame company, the stores today sell more than 70,000 crafting and home decor products, including floral, fabric, needle art, custom framing, baskets, home accents, wearable art, jewelry making items, and scrapbooking and paper crafting supplies.