Steinhafels Furniture to take place of Art Van in Downer's Grove

A Steinhafels Furniture is opening in Downers Grove this fall in the place of a former Art Van store.

The Downers Grove Economic Development Corporation announced that the Wisconsin-based, employee-owned furniture store will open in a 112,000 square foot space at 1021 Butterfield Road in Downers Grove. The company will be remodeling the exterior and interior of the building.

It will be the 17th Steinhafels location, with other stores in Crystal Lake and Vernon Hills.

The Downers Grove location will be the company's 11th furniture and mattress superstore, Steinhafels President Andrew Steinhafel said. “We look forward to providing the residents of Downers Grove and surrounding communities with the area's finest selection of furniture and mattresses along with an unsurpassed customer experience.”

The Detroit-based Art Van Furniture closed all of its stores early in March 2020, citing “unprecedented circumstances related to COVID-19.”

Steinhafels is a fourth-generation furniture retailer founded in 1934. The company sells home furnishings, mattresses and home décor items.

The company projects that the Downers Grove store will have sales of $21 million in the first year, with 3% growth in subsequent years, according to the news release from the Downers Grove Economic Development Corporation.

On May 4, 2021, the Steinhafels family announced it had sold its shares to an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, making the company fully employee owned.

“Steinhafels is a great addition to Downers Grove, and to the Butterfield corridor,” Downers Grove Mayor Robert Barnett said. “They are an 87-year old company with a long tradition of serving their customers and the community, and we're looking forward to welcoming the Steinhafels team to Downers Grove.”