Hawthorn Mall Reopening Date Announced

VERNON HILLS, IL — The doors to Hawthorn Mall in Vernon Hills will reopen Monday for shopping and patio dining, according to a news release. The shopping center will reopen under the guidance of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's Restore Illinois Plan, which enters Phase 3 Friday for local businesses.

According to the news release, the center aims to help protect the health and safety of shoppers and employees by instituting a number of new health care and safety procedures, operating on a reduced scheduled for the first 30 days and maintaining a 50 percent occupancy, per the governor's directive.

While the center is reopening for in-person shopping and patio dining Monday, each retailer or restaurant's team will determine their reopening timeframe, according to the news release.

The shopping center is made up of more than 120 specialty retailers, including Lake County's only Maggiano's and a state-of-the-art AMC Hawthorn 12 theater, according to the news release. For a current list of Hawthorn retailers and restaurants re-opening to the public, please visit shophawthornmall.com/directory.

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Hours of operation:

As shoppers are welcomed back to the mall, the center will operate on a slightly reduced schedule to allow more time for cleaning and disinfection after business hours, the news release said. This reduced schedule will be maintained for the first 30 days, then reassessed and expanded based on guidance from local government and healthcare officials. Through July 1, the center’s hours of operation will be:

• 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.: Monday through Saturday
• 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.: Sunday

New health-conscious policies and procedures:

• All mall employees have been trained on proper COVID-19 safety and prevention guidelines.
• Through the use of dividers at entries and exits, the mall will direct traffic flow, allowing for social distancing of at least six feet as people enter and exit the center.
• Anyone experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 now or within the past 72 hours is asked to refrain from entering the shopping center.
• New signage will encourage shoppers to wear face coverings, to continue social distancing, and to frequently wash or disinfect their hands.
• Janitorial staff will disinfect all high-touch common areas of the mall at regular intervals throughout the day, including restrooms, door handles, trash bins, elevator buttons/escalator handrails, tables and chairs, strollers and wheelchairs to name a few.
• Brand-new, cutting-edge UV sterilization equipment has been added to escalator handrails that offers greater than 99% efficacy in killing bacteria and viruses.
• Some high-contact amenities, including drinking fountains and valet parking, will remain temporarily closed.
• Food court tables will be cleaned and covered with butcher paper after each diner departs.
• Food court restaurants will continue to package food in to-go containers that can be taken home or disposed of rather than cleaned.
• Ordering and pickup areas will be separated, and floor decals will remind customers to remain at six-foot distances from one another.
• The center will operate at 50% capacity and has cancelled events expected to draw large crowds; smaller events where social distancing can be practiced will be phased in, and the center will continue to hold a number of events online for the near future.

“Everyone at Hawthorn Mall is thrilled and excited to re-open the center and welcome back our valued shoppers,” General Manager of Hawthorn Mall, Jeff Rutzen, said in the news release. “We’ve taken every precaution recommended to us by our local government and healthcare professionals to safeguard the health of our visitors and employees and to help everyone feel comfortable as we work to regain a sense of normalcy. I think the theme for our re-opening — ‘Our Priority is You’ — says it all, and we can’t wait to see everyone back at the mall enjoying themselves as they did before this crisis began.”

RELATED:

• Lake County Health Officials: Case Updates, Phase 3 Guidelines
• Mall Reopenings: Chain Plans To Open 5 Illinois Malls May 31

New Welcome-Back Programs:

• Ambassador Program: Hawthorn Mall “ambassadors” will welcome shoppers as they enter the mall, provide “wellness amenities” to each customer by request, including hand sanitizers and face coverings. These ambassadors will also be specially trained to answer common questions shoppers may have about the protocols the mall has put in place to protect their health as they begin to resume their normal lives by shopping, dining and enjoying all the center has to offer.
• Gratitude Wall: Hawthorn Mall wants to help its shoppers say a special thank-you to everyone who continued to serve them throughout this trying time by providing a wall where thank-you notes can be written on post-its and attached for all to see. Notes can be written to a specific person, or they can be more general for healthcare workers or other categories of first-responders – anyone shoppers want to thank.

Retail To Go continues:

For the time being, a growing number of the center’s retailers and restaurants continue to offer “Retail To Go” services, allowing shoppers who place orders online or via phone to pick up their purchases curbside without exiting their vehicles; to learn which retailers and restaurants offer this service, please visit http://ow.ly/yzta30qDNyl.

Five other big shopping centers in Illinois, including a few in the Chicago suburbs, will reopen May 31, according to the Simon Property Group. The Illinois and Chicago-area malls include Gurnee Mills in Gurnee, Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora, Orland Square Mall in Orland Park and White Oaks Mall in Springfield.

More information and updates: ShopHawthornMall.com