Two stores close, one opens in Algonquin Commons
As 2020 begins, the makeup of stores and restaurants in the Algonquin Commons shopping center along the Randall Road corridor is changing once again.
Two popular clothing stores are closing their doors, another one is moving to a more updated location, a popular restaurant sits vacant and a new, all-purpose technology store is coming to the mall.
One of the biggest changes early on that shoppers started to notice was the movement of Discovery Clothing from one end of Algonquin Commons to the other.
Previously, the discount clothing store was near Trader Joe's. In December, it moved to the opposite end of the mall in a new, refurbished spot near Shoelaces shoe store at 2120 S. Randall Road.
Near the new Discovery store, two popular clothing stores closed their doors this month. One, the upscale women's clothing store J. Jill, 1900 S. Randall Road, shut down at the Commons Jan. 25.
It is one of two J. Jill locations in the Chicago area that are closing, store employees said. The other location going out of business is in Bolingbrook.
J. Jill was one of the first clothing stores to open in Algonquin Commons.
Another longtime tenant, White House Black Market, also closed its location in the Commons at 1972 S. Randall Road. The store's last day of business was Jan. 26.
Early in 2019, White House Black Market announced that nationally it would be closing 250 stores. This is a continuation of that announcement.
In November, the popular Houlihan's restaurant at the front of the mall property facing Randall closed and now sits vacant. Houlihan's closed all of its restaurants due to a corporate restructuring and sale to Landry's, said Russell Farnum, the village of Algonquin's community development director.
Mall representatives would not comment on any of the stores coming to or leaving Algonquin Commons, or comment on the health of the outdoor mall. Susan Mann, the mall's acquisition manager, said it is their policy to never comment on it.
To help balance out the closings, a new business is coming to Algonquin Commons.
Close to the new Discovery store, Xfinity is opening one of its all-encompassing stores at 2104 S. Randall Road.
Inside, you can swap out your remotes and cable boxes, sign up for cellphones and services, and get information on any of the services Xfinity offers, including internet, cable, phone and security monitoring services.
Farnum said it is a slow time of the year for retail businesses, but he expects more announcements on new businesses to come this year.
"This is really the slow time for retail leasing," Farnum said. "I do expect some more announcements in February and March."
• Amy Williams' column covers all the news of business along the Randall Road corridor from Batavia to Crystal Lake. Contact her at randallbiz@comcast.net mailto:randallbiz@comcast.net or (847) 894-5036.