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Area malls and shopping centers ready for holiday shoppers

You won't find many retail store brands more well-known than Macy's, if for no other reason than the popularity of the movie "Miracle on 34th Street" that featured the store, its Thanksgiving parade and its Santa.

You also won't find too many cities the size of Peoria with a Macy's Department Store, but Northwoods Mall has it as one of its three anchors and it helps bring in shoppers from miles around, said Bob Schertz, director of marketing for Northwoods.

"There's no question that Macy's is a very big draw for us. During the holidays it gets even bigger as people will drive quite a ways to come to Macy's at Christmas," Schertz said.

"But you know what, we have such a great mix of tenants right now — including our other anchors Sears and J.C. Penney — people just want to come here to shop. Our traffic is very good, whether it's the holidays or not," he added.

Northwoods, which is owned by Simon Property Group, has mostly national retail tenants with the exception of the many kiosks that dot the middles of both levels of the mall. Many of those are locally based entrepreneurs, some just starting out, Schertz said. While the mall as a whole is nearly 100 percent leased, all kiosks space is leased for this holiday season, he added.

For Northwoods, the holiday season officially kicks off Nov. 4, with Santa Claus arriving on Nov. 5 to hear the wishes of boys and girls. Many stores, however, have already started their holiday seasons as far as decorations are concerned.

"It does seem like it gets earlier every year, but these stores are pretty savvy and they want to take advantage of when people are spending money. People are out there spending right now," Schertz said.

That was the case, for the most part, during the recession, as well, he said.

"Northwoods did really well during the recession, even during the worst part of it. We had sales gains during the holiday season even then," he said.

Northwoods opened in 1975 but went through a multi-million dollar renovation about six years ago. "This place is in great shape. We are still attracting top-flight tenants and again, we have a great mix. We like where we are right now," Schertz said.

Aside from the anchors, other tenants among Northwoods' 90 stores include Abercrombie & Fitch, Aeropostale, Bath & Body Works, Express, Kay Jewelry, Finish Line, Foot Locker, Maurices, Radio Shack, Rogers & Holland Jewelers,
Smo-King Pit, Spencer Gifts, Victoria's Secret and Wet Seal.
For a complete list, including hours of the mall as well as the individual stores, go to: www.simon.com

On up U.S. 150 from Northwoods is Peoria's other mall, the Shoppes at Grand Prairie. An open-air mall that the developers refer to as a "lifestyle center," the Shoppes sport four anchors, with Dick's Sporting Goods, Bergner's, Old Navy and Jillian's. There are another 64 specialty retail stores, eight of which are locally owned and operated, said Dawn Shipman, general manager of the mall.

The Shoppes have had a couple hits in recent years when two of its larger stores — Linens n' Things and more recently Border's — closed because their parent companies went bankrupt. The local stores were doing fine, Shipman said. In fact, the Peoria Borders ranked among that chain's top performing stores.

But the Shoppes have been able to keep tenants coming in, she said. Earlier this year Charming Charlies, a large fashion accessories boutique, opened its first store between Chicago and St. Louis. Soma Intimates, a boutique offering intimate apparel, opened as well, helping to fill a niche the Shoppes had been lacking, Shipman said.

On the restaurant side, Osaka Hibachi and Sushi Bar opened recently.

In the spring, Shipman said, Designer Shoe Warehouse will open.

While nothing is scheduled to replace Borders as yet, Shipman said there is a lot of interest in the site "and I don't think it will be that much longer before we'll be able to announce a new tenant for that space."

Otherwise, she said, "Things are fantastic out here. We're all gearing up for the holiday season and we're going to have more entertainment for our customers."

That includes the Shoppes' official holiday season kickoff on Nov. 12, which the mall calls its "Day of Giving." People who bring a toy for Toys for Tots or gently used clothing for the Salvation Army or food for local food banks will be given wristbands that entitle them to discounts at mall stores.

At 5 p.m. that day Santa will arrive in a horse-drawn carriage, followed by the Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

"It's always an exciting day here. It's almost like a Norman Rockwell setting," Shipman said.

Other tenants at the Shoppes at Grand Prairie include Chico's, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Johnny's Italian Steakhouse, Coldwater Creek, Aeropostale, Banana Republic, Charlotte Russe, the Dress Barn, Eddie Bauer, Willet's Wine and Yankee Candle.

For a complete list and hours go to www.shoppesatgrandprairie.com.

Surrounding the mall are several other retailers, large and small, national and local. They include Furniture Row, Rave Motion Pictures, Gordman's, Jones Bros. Jewelers and Golds Gym. Restaurants include Buffalo Wild Wings, Tilted Kilt, Famous Dave's, Starbucks, Steak n' Shake and Longhorn Steakhouse.

The Peoria area is home to many other smaller shopping centers that have mixes of national and local retailers. They include:

• Sheridan Village, at Sheridan and Lake, the city's oldest center (opened in 1954), is home to Bergner's, HyVee, CEFCU, Ing's China Express, Baskin Robbins and Weight Watchers.

• Evergreen Square, also at Sheridan and Lake, is home to Kmart, Kroger, Shoe Carnival, TJ Maxx and Office Depot.

• Willow Knolls Shopping Center, at Willow Knolls Drive and U.S. Route 150. Also owned by Simon Property Group, tenants include Kohl's, Sam's Club, Burlington Coat
Factory, Willow Knolls 14 cinemas and several restaurants.

• Glen Hollow Shopping Center, Big Hollow Road and Glen Avenue, tenants include Target, PetSmart, Lowe's, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Shop n' Save.

• Westlake Shopping Center, Lake and Sterling Avenues, tenants include Fresh Market, Guitar Center, Arby's, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Toys R Us, Babies R Us, Ruby Tuesday and Chuck E. Cheese.

• East Court Village, Pekin. Tenants include Bergner's, Big Lots, Hobby Lobby, Payless Shoe Source and Rue 21.

• Morton Plaza, Morton. Tenants include Kmart, Kroger, Hallmark and Dollar Tree.

• Riverside Center, East Peoria. Tenants include WalMart, Office Max, PetSmart, Bass Pro Shops, Lowe's, TGIF.

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