Bed, Bath and Beyond to leave Edens Plaza ‘in coming months’

Corporate officials confirmed to The Record that Bed, Bath & Beyond is closing its Wilmette store in Edens Plaza, 3232 Lake Ave.

A statement attributed to Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc. did not provide a closing date but said “closing sales will commence and continue over the next few weeks and months.”

Requests for more information went unanswered, but the statement says Wilmette is the only area location that will close and urges Bed, Bath & Beyond customers to visit the store’s Skokie and Deerfield locations.

“As we continue to work with our advisors to consider multiple paths, we are implementing actions to manage our business as efficiently as possible. As such, Bed Bath & Beyond has decided to close the Wilmette, IL location in the coming months,” the statement reads in part.

Local customers recently received a “closing sale” mailer from Bed, Bath & Beyond, but the announcement did not come as a surprise to Wilmette officials.

Village Manager Mike Braiman said the writing was on the wall for the longtime Wilmette location.

“We anticipated this was going to take place,” he said. “With the national landscape and what they are doing and the arrival of Wayfair that Bed, Bath & Beyond was going to close at some point sooner rather than later.”

The Wilmette location is one of the 87 Bed, Bath & Beyonds set for closure according to a recent statement by Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc., which operates 949 stores between Bed, Bath & Beyond (762) including buybuy Baby (137), Harmon and Face Values.

The recent announcement continues a trend that began last year when the company announced it would close 56 Bed, Bath & Beyond stores, bringing the total to more than 140 closing locations.

According to a January public filing, Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc. expected a sales decrease of $600 million from 2021 to 2022 and a profit loss of $385.8 million from October to November 2022, noting “substantial doubt” in the company’s future.

Bed, Bath & Beyond reportedly opened in Wilmette’s Edens Plaza in November of 1994, becoming a big-name box to complement plaza anchor Carson Pirie Scott.

Carson’s closed in 2018, and since, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Starbucks, Walgreens and Fresh Market have provided the big brands in Edens Plaza.

In late 2021, the shopping center was purchased by WS Development, a Boston-based firm promising upgrades throughout the plaza, including a tenant — Wayfair — for the 150,000-square-foot vacant Carson’s space. The most recent designs for Wayfair’s first retail store are seeking Village approval.

WS Development did not return a request for comment on Bed, Bath and Beyond, but Braiman said that he is “very excited about the future of the center” and the Village “has a lot of confidence” in WS Development.

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