Major furniture store coming to Downers Grove

A major furniture retailer will bring its 11th superstore to Downers Grove when Steinhafels opens for business in the former Art Van location.

The Wisconsin-based, employee-owned Steinhafels plans to open a 112,000-square-foot store at 1021 Butterfield Road. The company plans to make improvements to the exterior and interior of the building. Steinhafels expects to open the store this fall, the Downers Grove Economic Development Corp. said in a news release.

“We are very excited to be opening our 11th furniture and mattress superstore in Downers Grove this fall,” said Steinhafels President Andrew Steinhafel said in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming over 50 new associates to our company. As an employee-owned company, we know our associates are our greatest asset. We look forward to providing the residents of Downers Grove and surrounding communities with the area’s finest selection of furniture and mattresses along with an unsurpassed customer experience.”

Steinhafels is a fourth-generation furniture retailer, founded in 1934. The company sells home furnishings, mattresses and home décor. Steinhafels currently has 16 stores, 14 in Wisconsin and two in Illinois.

The company projects that the Downers Grove store will have sales of $21 million in the first year, with 3% growth in subsequent years. The Steinhafels family announced May 4 that it had sold its shares to an employee stock ownership plan, making the company 100% employee owned.

“Steinhafels is a great addition to Downers Grove and to the Butterfield corridor” Downers Grove Mayor Robert Barnett said in a statement. “They are an 87-year old company with a long tradition of serving their customers and the community, and we’re looking forward to welcoming the Steinhafels team to Downers Grove.”

Art Van Furniture announced in March 2020 that it would close all of its locations across the Midwest and begin liquidation sales.