The popular Old Orchard Mall in Skokie is set to reopen next week, the mall announced. But like many businesses reopening in Illinois, changes are in store.
The outdoor mall will reopen for business with modified hours beginning Wednesday.
The new hours will be 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and 12-6 p.m. on Sundays.
The mall said it will limit the number of shoppers, crowds and lines and will enforce social distancing measures, including face covering requirements.
It also plans to increase cleaning procedures and hand sanitizing stations.
The mall has already been offering curbside pickup from many retailers located on its premises and said it will continue to do so for customers who want to avoid lines and shoppers.
Illinois entered phase three of its reopening plan Friday, allowing many businesses to resume operations at limited capacity and with social distancing measures in place.
Initially, the governor said malls wouldn't reopen in phase three, saying it would be difficult to allow venues to open with hundreds and hundreds of people.
But the state's phase three guidelines changed as the state neared the end of the stay-at-home order.
"We're thinking of businesses as solitary, individual businesses. And so the rules that apply in terms of capacity- how many people could be in the store? How many people per 1,000 square feet? - So those, I think, would continue to apply for individual stores," Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said Thursday. "And then... if they happen to be within the context of a mall, I don't think the rules change. So I think it's still the rules that are prescribed or the guidance, I should say, the guidance that is prescribed for individual businesses, whether it's a personal care facility, the same rules would apply in terms of what services can be done."
