Skip to content
  • Subscribe
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Email
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Features
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
Suburban Chicagoland

Suburban Chicagoland

Original News, Features & Opinion on Chicago, Illinois and America

  • About
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Our Writers
      • Ray Hanania
      • Bill Lipinski
      • Biography: Aaron Hanania
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Policy
    • Reach Out
  • Sections
    • Events
    • Opinion
    • News
    • Features
    • Seniors
    • Comic Strip
  • Library
    • “MIdnight Flight” Online Book
      • Midnight Flight Book Overview
      • Midnight Flight Introduction
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 1
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 2
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 3
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 4
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 5
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 6
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 7
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 8
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 9
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 10
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 11
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 12
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 13
    • Villages, Cities & Towns
    • Federal Office Holders
    • County Officials
    • Legislators
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
  • Comment
  • Podcast
    • Ray Hanania on Politics
    • Two Guys on Politics
    • Hanania on Tiktok
  • News Wire
  • Archive 2004-2013
  • Toggle search form
  • Hastings insurance legislation
    Hastings announces legislation to ensure fair homeowners insurance rates for Illinois families Business
  • Mahnoor Ahmad campaign photo
    Mahnoor Ahmad runs for DuPage County Board seat Democrat
  • Sunday, October 26, the Village of Orland Park formally rededicated its Village Hall in honor of the late former Mayor Fredrick T. Owens
    Village of Orland Park Rededicates Village Hall in Honor of Late Former Mayor Fredrick T. Owens Government
  • Fire at townhome at 13900 block of Berkhansted Court in Orland Park, just before midnight on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025
    Firefighter treated for dehydration battling townhouse fire in Orland Park – no residents injured Fire
  • Firefighters with the Orland Fire Protection District who responded to a fire in an apartment at 15200 block of Al Camino Terrace on Saturday morning said the next day that they did find a kitten that needed respiratory aid that they saved.
    FIRE UPDATE: Fire District releases photos of kitten saved from Orland Park apartment fire Saturday Features
  • two-story apartment building on the 15200 block of El Camino Terrace in Orland Park
    Orland Park apartment fire Saturday morning, no injuries Fire
  • Illinois Senator Michael Hastings addressing the Orland Township Democratic Organization Wednesday Oct. 12, 2022
    Hastings calls for bipartisan action to protect Illinois families from SNAP benefit shutdown Baby Boomers
  • Illinios Industrial Energy Consumers, information ad
    Get information on the Illinois Energy Omnibus Bill in Springfield Business
  • State Senator Mike Porfirio secured over $20 million to support infrastructure improvements and construction in the 11th Senate District.
    Senator Porfirio applauds more than $20 million in infrastructure repairs coming to the 11th District News
  • Dad and daughter reunited Lebving Law firm photo
    Little Girl Recovered and Reunited with Dad After Long Separation Dads' Rights
  • 11-03-25 OFPD Coffee living alone
    Orland Fire hosts meeting on helping Seniors who live alone Nov. 5 Baby Boomers
  • State Senator Michael Hastings introduces law to revive long dormant and degraded Tinley Park Mental Health Center into a Sports Park for the community. Photo courtesy of the State Senate President Don Harmon
    Hastings secures $250,000 grant for Easterseals Academy’s Tinley Park campus Health
  • Chicago ranks as 161st worst city for crime in new national survey Chicago
  • Kat Abughazaleh 9th DIstrict Congress 2026 candidate democrat
    Kat Abughazaleh raises over $520,000 in Q2 of 2025 with more than $630,000 cash on hand for 2026 Democratic primary election elections
  • Silent Threat: The True Dangers of Lithium-Ion Batteries — How to Stay Safe and Respond to a Battery Fire Fire
HOBO is holding closing sales at all seven of its locations including Joliet and this store at 87th and Cicero in Oak Lawn. (Photo by Bob Bong)

Bob Bong on Business: Hobo stores closing

Posted on November 8, 2018January 9, 2019 By Ray Hanania No Comments on Bob Bong on Business: Hobo stores closing
SHARE THIS STORY
            
 
  

Bob Bong on Business: Hobo stores closing

By Bob Bong

Bob Bong

In 1996, Home Owners Bargain Outlet rose out of the ashes of the Handy Andy bankruptcy.

The chain of discount home improvement stores eventually grew to seven including locations at 8716 S. Cicero Ave. in Oak Lawn and 1693 Plainfield Road in Crest Hill. Other suburban stores were in Forest Park, Villa Park, and Waukegan, with two more in Wisconsin.

Now, HOBO, as the stores are known, is about to suffer the same fate as Handy Andy. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late last month and has started liquidation sales.

The chain reported sales of nearly $80 million in 2017 and employed more than 200 people.

HOBO is holding closing sales at all seven of its locations including Joliet and this store at 87th and Cicero in Oak Lawn. (Photo by Bob Bong)
HOBO is holding closing sales at all seven of its locations including Joliet and this store at 87th and Cicero in Oak Lawn. (Photo by Bob Bong)

HOBO’s lead bankruptcy attorney, Jonathan Friedland of Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger LLP, stated in a release, “Brick and mortar retail, of course, has been decimated in recent years and the story of retail generally is very much a part of HOBO’s story. But other factors also contributed, including intense competition from new and rapidly expanding competitors, and a slowing of discretionary spending, including do-it-yourself home projects.”

HOBO, according to Friedland, engaged a store-liquidation firm that is helping the company conduct store-wide sales.

“HOBO stores remain open and remain a great place to shop. Its motto has always been, ‘You never know what you will find but you will always find it for less!’ It’s going to be truer over the next couple of weeks than ever before.”

Closing sales are expected to last through mid-December.

Pop-up shop now open at Chicago Ridge Mall

Bath and body shop owned by a Bridgeview woman and her two sisters opened last week as a pop-up shop at Chicago Ridge Mall in Chicago Ridge.

Evelia Aguirre-Torres owns De Mi Tierra Natural Bath & Body with her sisters Sandra Aguirre and Lorena Aguirre. They make a variety of all natural, hand-crafted bath and body products such as sugar scrubs, natural deodorants, natural face masks and nontoxic home cleaners.

“My sisters and I are beyond grateful for the opportunity to service the guests at Chicago Ridge,” Aguirre-Torres said in a release. “My sisters and I grew up in the South Side and Chicago Ridge was always our go-to mall, so we are beyond excited to offer natural products to customers in a retail location.”

H&M to open at Orland Square Mall

Swedish-based fashion retailer H&M will hold a grand opening next week at Orland Square Mall in Orland Park.

The store will have its grand opening at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 15.

Guests can bring in a bag of unwanted clothing before the grand opening and enter to win an H&M gift card valued up to $250.

The company was found in Sweden in 1947 and today offers fashion for everyone under the brands of H&M, COS, Monki, Weekday, Cheap Monday and & Other Stories, as well as fashion for the home at H&M Home.

The retailer has been opening stores in the south suburbs in recent years. A store opened at Chicago Ridge Mall in 2015 and another location opened in August at Ford City Mall.

Walmart celebrates new look store in Crestwood

Walmart celebrated the grand reopening of its remodeled Crestwood Supercenter with Mayor Lou Presta at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 19. The store was one of 16 stores the retailer was remodeling throughout Illinois this year.

“On behalf of the Village of Crestwood and the village board, we’d like to congratulate Walmart on the completion of recent renovations,” said Presta. “We appreciate Walmart’s investment in Crestwood and their continued partnership with our community.”

Improvements include:

Featured online order pick up area at the front of the store—a convenient, quick way for customers to shop.

State-of-the-art electronics department with interactive displays.

Revitalized apparel department, including updated fitting rooms.

Wider aisles and lower fixtures for improved store flow, better line of sight and easier navigation.

“We are so excited to welcome Crestwood shoppers to our newly remodeled Supercenter,” said Store Manager Jennifer Bell. “Our everyday low prices save our customers money, but our newly redesigned store layout will now save our customers time as well.”

As part of the celebration, the Crestwood Supercenter presented donations to local organizations in support of their important work in the community: Crisis Center for South Suburbia ($1,000), Crestwood Police Department ($1,000), Crestwood Mayor’s Office ($500) and the Crestwood Fire Department ($500).

In April, Walmart announced it expected to spend an estimated $56 million in Illinois over the year through the remodeling of 16 stores, as well as the rollout of several in-store and online innovations designed to help busy customers save time and money.

Evergreen Park Carson’s to reopen on Black Friday

A restructured Carson’s will open its doors once again for shoppers on Black Friday, Nov. 23, at the new Evergreen Plaza in Evergreen Park.

“I’m just very excited that Carson’s will be open again,” Evergreen Park Mayor James Sexton said.

Sexton said the deal came together in September while he was trying to find new tenants to replace the Carson’s, which closed in August.

He said he received a phone call from a representative of DirectBuy in Merrillville, Ind., which is owned by CSC Generation, stating that they were interested in reopening the Carson’s.

CSC Generation, which describes itself as a saving club for members that provides discounted prices on items ranging from home and lifestyle products, had purchased the intellectual property rights to Carson’s.

“They came in and discussed it,” Sexton said. “After talking to them, they wanted to open before the holidays. They were very excited and said they wanted to open for Thanksgiving.”

The plan is to have the store open half the week as a brick-and-mortar store and the other half of the week as an online operation.

“At first they want to operate out of the first floor to start,” Sexton said. “They are also planning to sell their DirectBuy brands. I think the idea is to sell the most popular Carson’s items while combining it with DirectBuy products.  Eventually they should use the second floor.”

The new Carson’s is scheduled to be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Officials from the new company said it will be utilized for online sales Monday through Wednesday.

If you see a new business in town or wonder what happened to an old favorite, drop me a line at [email protected]. You can track business openings and closings at http://bobbongonbusiness.com/

 

newswire info
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.  

His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at [email protected].

Follow RayHanania at Twitter
Ray Hanania
Latest posts by Ray Hanania (see all)
  • Hastings announces legislation to ensure fair homeowners insurance rates for Illinois families - October 29, 2025
  • Mahnoor Ahmad runs for DuPage County Board seat - October 29, 2025
  • Village of Orland Park Rededicates Village Hall in Honor of Late Former Mayor Fredrick T. Owens - October 29, 2025
NPV: 93
  • Tweet

SHARE THIS STORY
            
 
  
 
 
 
           
Business, Suburban Chicagoland Tags:Bob Bong on Business, Hobo, retail stores, Southwest suburbs

Post navigation

Previous Post: Video: Chicago Newsroom on CAN TV analyzes elections
Next Post: Ugliness in national politics won’t stop, especially against veterans

Related Posts

  • Cook County Treasurer Payment Options
    Financial planning tool offers free online help to budget late tax payments  Cook County
  • No slowing down for Cummings News
  • Goalie Garret Sparks of the Chicago Wolves. Courtesy of the Chicago Wolves.
    Chicago Wolves beat Milwaukee again Chicago
  • Judge Anna Demacopoulos
    Four Cook County Judges you should watch out for Blogger
  • Bill Healy Jr., journalist and among the finalists for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize. Photo courtesy of BillHealyMedia.com
    Orland journalist among finalists for 2021 Pulitzer prize Blogger
  • Buying a new car is so traumatic Editors Pick

More Related Articles

Grand Opening of Ninja Park in Frankfort July 25, 2023 6 to 7:30 PM Senator Michael Hastings and Frankfort Park District invite residents to Ninja Park grand opening Events
Jeffery M. Leving website snapshot Fatherhood symposium set for June 12 Chicago
Where your money goes Cook County Property Taxes 2024 Read your property tax bill Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas urges homeowners Chicago
Disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich appears in a commercial endorsing the Orland Residents for Responsible Government (ORRG) slate challenging Orland Township Supervisor Paul O'Grady. Photo from video Orland Township Republicans should reject the “Not Really” Republicans on April 6 Cook County
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash Orland Park Partners with Federal Agency to Address Illegal Firearms Crime
Tasneem Abuzir, candidate for Palos Township trustee. Photo courtesy of Tasneem Abuzir's Facebook page. Tasneem Abuzir can bring sanity and services back to Palos Township Blogger

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Login with your Social ID
  • OPINION
  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas
    Your Mortgage Company May Pay Your Taxes — But You Still Need to Watch
    October 17, 2025
  • Mohammed Faheem The Lightning Strike Radio Show small
    The Politicization of the Nobel Peace Prize — and Trump’s Fury Over Losing Again
    October 11, 2025
  • 06-04-25 Two Guys on Politics Background Zoom LOGO with images
    Video Podcast: Trump Kimmel Kirk Great American Divide Illegal Aliens polling and Illegal Aliens and ICE
    September 20, 2025
  • Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch speaking at a West Side affordable housing dedication
    Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, one of the best candidates to become Illinois Governor
    September 7, 2025
  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas
    What You’re Missing on Your Property Tax Bill
    September 5, 2025
Subscribe to Ray Hanania's column graphic

Enter Your Email to Subscribe to Ray Hanania’s Columns

  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png

Mohammed Faheem The Lightning Strike Radio

  • NEWS
  • Hastings insurance legislation
    Hastings announces legislation to ensure fair homeowners insurance rates for Illinois families
    October 29, 2025
  • Mahnoor Ahmad campaign photo
    Mahnoor Ahmad runs for DuPage County Board seat
    October 29, 2025
  • Sunday, October 26, the Village of Orland Park formally rededicated its Village Hall in honor of the late former Mayor Fredrick T. Owens
    Village of Orland Park Rededicates Village Hall in Honor of Late Former Mayor Fredrick T. Owens
    October 29, 2025
  • Fire at townhome at 13900 block of Berkhansted Court in Orland Park, just before midnight on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025
    Firefighter treated for dehydration battling townhouse fire in Orland Park – no residents injured
    October 28, 2025
  • Firefighters with the Orland Fire Protection District who responded to a fire in an apartment at 15200 block of Al Camino Terrace on Saturday morning said the next day that they did find a kitten that needed respiratory aid that they saved.
    FIRE UPDATE: Fire District releases photos of kitten saved from Orland Park apartment fire Saturday
    October 26, 2025
John Kass Columns

Order the book PoweR PR; Ethnic Activists Guide to Strategic Communications

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE TO RAY HANANIA'S YOUTUBE VIDEOS


Click here to view the video on YouTube or use the widget below.

Follow Ray Hanania at
Twitter
Facebook
TitkTok
BlueSky
RayHanania Columns

Creative Commons License
All works on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

Categories

Copyright © 2022 Suburban Chicagoland & Urban Strategies Group

Powered by PressBook Premium theme