Warm Reception for Five Below in Tinley Park

Becky Harrison and her daughter Brianna at the new Five Below store in Tinley Park.

Margaret DeRe and her daughter Catharine shop at the new Five Below store.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Area moms and daughters welcomed the new Five Below discount store to Tinley Park with open arms on Friday at Brookside Marketplace at 191st Street and Harlem Avenue.

“I’m a little excited,” said Catharine DeRe, 11, of Mokena, while shopping with her Mom, Margaret, a couple of hours after the store opened. “I like it.”

Mom was excited about the prices at the store that caters to teens and pre-teens, “A backpack and T-shirts for $5, that’s a great price. And it’s a fun atmosphere.”

“I love it,” said Becky Harrison, of Tinley Park, who was doing back-to-school shopping with her daughter Brianna, 10.

“There’s something for everyone, and they have great prices,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for this store to open after I went a couple of times to the store in Orland Hills.”

“We’ve had a steady stream of customers,” said Sandy, the store manager, who added the store has about 25 employees.

An employee on loan for a few days from a store in New Jersey said the Tinley Park store was just over 7,500 square feet. “All of the stores are about that size,” he said.

Another employee who was handing out free T-shirts to customers said she had already given away more than 300 in the first two hours the store was open.

Five Below is the first of three new stores coming to Brookside Marketplace. A HomeGoods store is set to open next month and is hiring for the Tinley Park store, and work is under way on an Old Navy store, but no opening date has been set yet for that site.

Parmida Opens at Orland Park Crossing
Parmida Home Store held a grand opening recently for its eighth store at 14225 S. 95th Avenue at Orland Park Crossing in Orland Park.

The store, which specializes in home living and entertainment merchandise, is the chain’s second store in Illinois.

Store manager is longtime Orland Park resident Monica Rose.

For information, call 708-226-6680.

New Home for Pedigree Junction
Pedigree Junction, a dog and cat grooming spa, moved recently from one strip center to an adjoining one at 7659 W. St. Francis Road in Frankfort Square in the former Susan's Accessories store. The hours remain the same as does the phone number 815-464-4404.