In late August, Gurnee Mills put out one announcement listing about a dozen new businesses, with IKEA at the top. As of mid-October, six of those businesses appear on the mall's "Now Open" list. Two more have firm dates this month. IKEA and Toys "R" Us still have no opening dates. Both are listed as coming soon on the Village of Gurnee's own tracker, and IKEA's store page still reads "Fall 2026."
The Daily Herald's August 25 report gave the original plan. Fashion Q and Nali Jewelers would open in September. Archive Room, Sophia's Mexican Grill and Toys "R" Us would follow in October. IKEA would open sometime "this fall," and Sky Zone would open "come spring." The September stores mostly kept to that plan. The October and fall stores have spread out.
Where each announced store stands as of mid-October
The table below combines the village's Projects in Progress update dated September 30 with Simon's Gurnee Mills store listings as they read in mid-October.
| Business | Where in the mall | Status in mid-October |
|---|---|---|
| Nali Jewelers | Near Entry E | Open |
| Fashion Q | Near Entry B | Listed in Simon's "Now Open" roundup |
| Rally House | Near Entry B in Center Court | Listed in Simon's "Now Open" roundup |
| Chocolate Moonshine Co. | Near Entry A | Listed in Simon's "Now Open" roundup |
| Abuela's | Near Dining Pavilion North | Listed in Simon's "Now Open" roundup |
| AJ's Putt 'N' Play | Near Entry J | Listed in Simon's "Now Open" roundup |
| Sophia's Mexican Grill | Dining Pavilion North, near Entry J | Expected October 15 |
| Archive Room | Near Entry C | Expected October 31 |
| Toys "R" Us | Near Entry A | Coming soon, no opening date posted |
| IKEA | Lot B, next to Hobby Lobby | "Coming Soon: IKEA (Fall 2026)" |
| Miniso | Not specified | Coming soon, per the village |
| Sky Zone | Near Entry J | Spring 2027 |
The village's September update also lists T-shirt Station and Spirit Halloween as open. It names remodels underway at Nike and Aerie and an Auntie Anne's remodel still under review. Simon's Toys "R" Us page already shows store hours but no opening date. The village listed the store as coming soon as of September 30, so the hours on that page don't confirm the store is open.
IKEA has the biggest name and the least certain date
The IKEA timeline has been loose from the start. When the store was made official in February, the Daily Herald reported that a mall official confirmed a fall opening. In late August, Patch narrowed that to "late fall 2026." Simon's store page still says "Fall 2026" and lists no hours or grand-opening date.
The store will be smaller than the IKEA stores in Schaumburg and Bolingbrook. It takes 66,000 square feet in part of the old Sears Grand space. Simon's listing describes what goes in that space:
- More than 5,000 products shown in room settings
- Full planning services for kitchens, wardrobes, living rooms and storage
- More than 3,000 items to take home the same day
- Delivery, or free next-day store pickup, for the wider catalog
The February report described a central planning area staffed by IKEA experts. It said about 600 of the take-home items would be small furniture, and that meatballs, veggie dogs and cinnamon buns would be on offer. The food plans come from that February report. None of the newer coverage adds detail on them.
Until the store opens, the existing IKEA Pick-Up Point at Gurnee Mills stays the local option. It's open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with free pickup as soon as the next day.
The village has money riding on the opening date. Gurnee offered $2 million in incentives to land IKEA. The village projects $2.9 million in sales tax from the store over six years, which would leave it about $900,000 ahead. Retail consultant John Melaniphy, president of Melaniphy & Associates, called the deal "a home run for Gurnee" in the Daily Herald's February coverage. He said the concept store would draw shoppers from a wide area and lift mall sales.
The old Sears wing now sells crafts, bowling and furniture
With IKEA in place, the end of the mall that once held Sears Grand will look very different. The Daily Herald's February report listed Hobby Lobby and Round1 Bowling as the current tenants of that wing. IKEA will sit in Parking Lot B next to Hobby Lobby. That makes three tenants in a row built around projects and outings, none of them a traditional department store. None of the August through October coverage names a tenant for the rest of the old Sears space.
The other end of the mall is also adding places to spend an afternoon. Sophia's Mexican Grill, which serves traditional Mexican street food, is set to open in Dining Pavilion North near Entry J. Sky Zone's trampoline park, with private party rooms and a Fuel Zone for food, is planned near the same entry for spring. AJ's Putt 'N' Play is already open near Entry J, and Abuela's is open near Dining Pavilion North.
Toys "R" Us will be near Entry A, the same entrance where Santa arrives next month. The store's opening date is still unannounced, so it's not yet clear whether it will be open for the parade.
From now to spring, in date order
The openings are part of a full Gurnee calendar. Here are the dates that are confirmed, at the mall and around the village:
- Through October 13: Cirque Italia, listed on the village's September update for October 5 through 13.
- October 15: Sophia's Mexican Grill's expected opening.
- October 16, 7 to 11 p.m.: The Gurnee Park District's Bonfire & Brews: A Taste of Gurnee at Bittersweet Golf Club, 875 Almond Road, with local food and drink vendors and live music.
- October 29, 5 to 7 p.m.: Boo Bash indoor trick-or-treating at the mall, starting at Dining Pavilion South.
- October 31: Archive Room's expected opening, the same day as the village's trick-or-treat hours from 2 to 5 p.m.
- November 19, 6 to 7 p.m.: Santa's arrival parade. Santa comes in at Entry A, and the parade ends at the Santa set near Dining Pavilion South.
- November 20, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.: The village's sixth annual Holiday Lights at Welton Plaza, 4555 Old Grand Ave., with firepits, s'mores, pizza, crafts and Santa.
- Spring 2027: Sky Zone.
Simon lists the mall's regular hours as 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. No 2026 holiday hours have been posted. For the drive in, the village's late-August construction update had Fuller Road reconstruction between Stearns School Road and IL-132 still in progress in stages, with completion estimated for November.
Grand Avenue had a closing, too
The mall's openings were announced weeks or months ahead. On Grand Avenue, one longtime restaurant gave its regulars about two weeks' notice. According to the Daily Herald, the family and staff of Salutos, at 7680 Grand Ave., announced in late August that the property had been sold. The restaurant served its final weekend in September after 36 years. In their farewell post, the Bode family and staff wrote that Salutos "has been so much more than a restaurant." They promised there would still be plenty of the famous house dressing for the last weekend.
The village's September tracker shows other changes along Grand Avenue. Gurnee Community Bank's new building at 7320 Grand Ave. is open. Gurnee Hyundai's renovation and addition at 6251 Grand Ave. is also finished, and the dealership is open.
The next entries on the Gurnee Mills calendar are Sophia's on October 15 and Archive Room on October 31. IKEA's opening date will come from the store itself. Until it does, the store page at 6170 W. Grand Ave. says only "Fall 2026."
New stores like these change how much a few miles of Grand Avenue gets used, and I follow that kind of detail for every client I work with. If you'd like to talk through what Gurnee's changes mean for your own plans, Anne Hardy is glad to help. Schedule a free consultation.
