Demolition contractors tore down the vacant wholesale cigarette store in Joliet. The entire strip mall has been empty for two years.
Aug 3, 2023 7:05 pm CDT | Updated Aug 3, 2023 8:01 pm CDT
JOLIET, IL — If you drive along Joliet’s busy West Jefferson Street, you see a robust-looking business corridor, unlike like years past. There’s one major construction project taking place at the corner of Barney and Jefferson, plus one on Jefferson Street near the Jewel grocery store.
In recent years, one of the most deplorable properties along West Jefferson Street — in addition to the empty Baker’s Square restaurant — was the commercial strip mall directly to its east.
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The entire strip mall has been empty during the past two years, but in a matter of months, the property is going to spring back to life. One of the country’s most trusted auto parts stores, NAPA, will be taking over the entire remaining strip mall.
For the past decade, NAPA has had its auto parts retail store at 2121 West Jefferson Street, two lots to the east, next to the Walgreens store.
“Today, the NAPA Network offers 500,000+ unique parts, distributed across 57 distribution centers, 6,000+ NAPA Auto Parts stores and 16,000+ NAPA Auto Care centers throughout the United States,” the NAPA company’s website proclaims.
According to its website, in 1925, a group of independent auto parts sellers met in Detroit to form the National Automotive Parts Association. John Ferak/Joliet Patch
During Thursday afternoon’s visit, the Joliet NAPA employees told Patch that the new storefront will double to triple the size of their existing store and give them a much bigger parking lot.
This week’s demolition of the former World Vape & Tobacco Wholesale store at 2157 West Jefferson Street is intended to give the future NAPA auto parts store a lot more parking space than their existing business has, the employees noted.
The last tenant to occupy the down-on-its luck Joliet strip mall, World Vape & Tobacco Wholesale store opened in September 2020 on the west wing of the commercial building.
Window displays advertised cigar accessories, CBD White Owl, glass pipe hookahs as well as Swisher Sweets cigars black and mild. Then, a year later, World Vape was gone and the entire strip mall was back to being empty.
And now, the former World Vape store is nothing but a pile of giant concrete blocks, thanks to the demolition equipment.
In 2020, World Vape & Tobacco Wholesale opened at the struggling business plaza on Joliet’s West Jefferson Street. That portion of the building was just torn down. File Image via John Ferak/Patch
It was unclear whether the new NAPA store will be ready to open before the end of the year, according to the employees. NAPA is expected to remain at its current location until the move happens.
In any event, City of Joliet economic development director Cesar Suarez told Joliet Patch that the relocation of NAPA to occupy the previously empty strip mall will be another major redevelopment success story for Joliet’s resurging West Jefferson Street.
“It’s exciting,” Suarez remarked.
As for the future of the empty Baker’s Square next door, that property remains in limbo now that the Joliet City Council voted several weeks ago to reject a proposal to open a retail marijuana dispensary at that location.
Related Joliet Patch coverage:
Marijuana Shop Opening On Jefferson Street After All?
New Joliet Building Underway, 9 Months After Groundbreaking
New Jefferson Street Business For D’Arcy Hyundai Property
Long John Silver Property Finds New Tenant In Joliet
In 2020, World Vape & Tobacco Wholesale opened at the struggling business plaza on Joliet’s West Jefferson Street. That portion of the building was just torn down. Image via John Ferak/Patch
In 2020, World Vape & Tobacco Wholesale opened at the struggling business plaza on Joliet’s West Jefferson Street. That portion of the building was just torn down. Image via John Ferak/Patch