America's Antique Mall opening third national location in Algonquin

A 50,000-square-foot America's Antique Mall will open this month in the former Ashley Furniture location along Randall Road in Algonquin.

The shop, at 2451 S. Randall Road, will host a grand opening on Black Friday, Nov. 24, with raffles and "surprises," co-owner Julie Coppedge said.

This is America's Antique Mall's third location in the country, with others in Florida and Indiana. Algonquin sparked interest for a third location because it's a growing area with a lot of people, Coppedge said.

"The more we looked at Algonquin, the more we just loved that area," she said.

The mall is expected to have 285 booths and 280 lot showcases filled with local and national vendors. Some vendors will take more than one lot or showcase, Coppedge said.

"I feel like every booth has its own personality. It's like shopping at hundreds of shops," she added.

Items vendors typically sell include furniture, home decor, vintage clothing and collectibles, as well as handmade items and art.

"We have small-business owners that may want to open a second location but may not want the overhead of a second location and so they partner with us," Coppedge said.

One of the small businesses inside the mall will be The Chocolate Shoppe. Based in Plano, the shop will offer best-sellers such as English toffee, truffles, salted caramel and fudge. Owner Andi Groff will hand out free samples of her chocolate truffles at the grand opening, she said.

"This is exciting for us and I'm looking forward to meeting new people and getting our brand out there," Groff said.

America's Antique Mall has been gaining popularity, especially with younger generations, and the growing movement of sustainability and recycling may be the reason why, Coppedge said.

"The great thing about antiques is that while other things get discarded, antiques just get recirculated. I don't see it going anywhere."