Retailers, including entertainment venues, fast-casual restaurants, gyms, jewelry stores and clothing brands, look toward markets around the Windy City for new locations. Midwestern cities, including Chicago, have recently been showing resiliency through stability. Attractive fundamentals, as well as little new recent retail development, are bringing major retail brands to the Chicago MSA.
Five new retailers have signed leases to open at North Riverside Park Mall in the Chicago suburb of North Riverside. The leases, which include Canada Weather Gear, Lovisa Jewelry & Accessories, Boneyard Chicago and FLX Move Pilates bring the property to 96% occupancy. Most of the tenants are now open. The Feil Organization owns the 1.2 million-s.f. shopping center. Feil acquired the mall in 2004 and completed an $8M capital improvement plan in November 2024.
Three new retail tenants recently debuted at Deer Park Town Center in the Chicago suburb of Deer Park, with another tenant set to open early next year. LaserAway, which occupies an 1,819-s.f. store, recently opened next to Sleep Number and offers laser hair removal technology and treatments. Eye care retailer Warby Parker opened a 2,512-unit late in 2025. American Eagle also just opened in a 5,800-s.f. space next to Bath & Body Works. Coffee bar Toastique will open its first Illinois location early this year. The 1,400-s.f. restaurant will serve gourmet toast, juice and coffee. Deer Park Town Center is an outdoor lifestyle shopping center that is home to more than 60 retail, restaurant and service brands and is managed by JLL.
Chipotle Mexican Grill opened at Rock Run Collection in Joliet. The new restaurant features a Chipotlane drive-thru pickup lane for digital orders and will bring around 30 new jobs to the area. Chipotle joins the now-open Hollywood Casino Joliet and The View at Rock Run Collection, upscale apartments that are currently leasing. Future tenants will include Drury Hotel, Chick-fil-A and Ricky Rockets. Cullinan Properties is the developer of Rock Run Collection, a mixed-use project spanning more than 300 acres at the intersection of Interstate 55 and Interstate 80.
Family entertainment tenant Sky Zone signed a 40,103-s.f. retail lease at Gurnee Mills Mall in the northern Chicago suburb of Gurnee. CBRE represented the landlord, Simon Property Group. Gurnee Mills Mall is home to more than 200 retail, dining and entertainment options. The mall features tenants such as Macy’s, Kohl’s, Marshalls/HomeGoods and Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World.
CBRE also negotiated five new retail leases for QDOBA Mexican Eats in the suburbs of Chicago. The locations are in Vernon Hills, Wheaton, Downers Grove, Bloomingdale and Elmhurst. The 2,000-s.f. location in Vernon Hills is within The Marketplace at Vernon Hills, a retail center owned by Kimco Realty. Danada Square West in Wheaton is a grocery-anchored center owned by DLC. The 2,000-s.f. location in Downers Grove is within a property owned by Vic Mehta. LFI is the landlord for the Bloomingdale and Elmhurst properties. Holy Moley Guacamole is the franchise business for the new locations.
