(Crain’s) — Carson Pirie Scott is opening a furniture store in north suburban Vernon Hills, making it the department store chain’s fifth such location in the Chicago area.

The free-standing, 47,000-square-foot store will accompany an existing Carson’s department store at the Westfield Hawthorne Center shopping mall. The grand opening is scheduled for Sept. 29. A “soft opening” is likely a few days before that, a spokeswoman says.


“We believe the addition of the furniture gallery will enhance the total shopping experience for our Vernon Hills customer,” Bud Bergren, president and chief executive officer of Bon-Ton Stores Inc., which owns the Carson Pirie Scott nameplate, said in a statement.

The Vernon Hills store is expected to carry furniture from Martha Stewart’s Signature line, Tommy Bahama and Better Homes & Gardens Furniture Collection.

York, Pa.-based Bon-Ton Stores has Carson’s furniture stores in Schaumburg, Wilmette, Lombard and Naperville. The company operates various department store chains, including Elder-Beerman, Younkers and Bergner’s.