Carson's to close at St. Charles mall

ST. CHARLES – Shoppers seeking bargains will find them at Carson's in St. Charles, which soon will close after many years as a Charlestowne Mall anchor store.

Carson's parent company, Bon-Ton Stores Inc., recently announced a U.S. Bankruptcy Court agreement that requires liquidation of all its inventory and other assets. Bon-Ton began going-out-of-business sales April 20 in 212 of its stores, which include Carson's, Bergner's and others.

“The liquidation sales will last about 10 to 12 weeks, maybe longer or shorter based on merchandise inventory,” Bon-Ton vice president of public relations Christine Hojnacki said. “Discounts will get deeper as the liquidation sale continues.”

The St. Charles Carson's could close within three months and definitely will not be open past Aug. 31, Hojnacki said.

Throughout the closing sales, Carson's and its e-commerce and mobile platforms will remain open and serving customers, store officials said.

Bon-Ton currently has 250 stores, 38 of which already were in liquidation since January. In addition to Carson's, Bon-Ton businesses include Boston Store, Elder-Beerman, Herberger’s and Younkers. The department store chain is headquartered in York, Pa, and Milwaukee, Wis.

Carson's was one of the original anchor stores at Charlestowne Mall, which opened in 1991. Another one, JC Penney, closed in 2001 and Von Maur opened in the space a year later. Sears, also an anchor from the mall's start, closed in 2011. Kohl's shut its doors in 2016.

Krausz Companies Inc., owner of the mall property it renamed The Quad, closed the mall's interior stores Dec. 1, 2017. Krausz plans to tear down the unoccupied mall structure.

Carson's leased its site from Krausz. Von Maur, which owns the department store's property, remains open. Charlestowne Classic Cinemas also plans to continue operating, having renewed its lease with Krausz through 2042, theater manager Randy Pollock said.

Krausz has not announced when the mall demolition will take place, but Quad project manager Chuck May said the company hopes to do the tear down before the end of this year.

After the mall demolition, Krausz plans to build townhomes and apartments on the property, with the number, design and location of the structures to be determined.