A Yard House restaurant will occupy one of three outlots along Milwaukee Avenue as part of the ongoing Hawthorn mall redevelopment in Vernon Hills.
Courtesy of Darden Group and DP3 Architects
Site prep work is complete and work on a new Yard House restaurant in Vernon Hills is expected to begin soon.
Yard House will occupy one of the three outlots along Milwaukee Avenue as part of the ongoing Hawthorn mall redevelopment. Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille opened in April and a First Watch restaurant is proposed for the middle lot.
The restaurant is among three new businesses coming to Hawthorn Row. Pure Barre, the largest barre franchise in North America, recently opened near AMC Theatres. Rootz, a local children’s performing arts center will be opening in the same area in 2025.
A First Watch restaurant is proposed for the middle of three outlots along Milwaukee Avenue as part of the ongoing Hawthorn mall redevelopment in Vernon Hills.
Courtesy of Vernon Hills
The latter two businesses are part of a growing health and wellness collective at the center, according to Dallas-based Centennial Real Estate which owns the Hawthorn mall property.
Yard House is said to have one of the world’s largest draft beer selections. Each American craft and import beer is chilled to 36 degrees and stored in a glass-enclosed keg room housing hundreds of kegs and up to 3,000 gallons of beer.
Beer flows to a center island bar via miles of overhead lines. The restaurant also offers crafted cocktails and a diverse lunch, dinner, happy hour and late-night dining menu inspired by its California roots.
Founded in Long Beach, California, in 1996, Yard House now has 88 restaurants across 27 states; the new Hawthorn location will be the third Yard House in Illinois. An opening date is to be determined.
The restaurant spaces are at the entrance to Hawthorn Row, a Main Street-style gathering space situated between two, four-story luxury apartment buildings known as The Domaine on the east side of the Hawthorn property.
Pure Barre is inspired by yoga, Pilates and ballet as an empowering full-body workout to transform guests physically and mentally. Each class features low-impact, high-intensity movements for any fitness level.
A complimentary introductory class experience is offered to new and local customers. The class introduces those new to Pure Barre to all four class formats in a personalized and small group setting.
Rootz is a local children’s performing arts center offering experiences to empower and inspire children. Programs including dance, theater, fitness, tumbling, and enrichment introduce children to the performing arts, nurturing growth and development and fostering self-confidence.
Other additions include Anthropologie and FP Movement, both expected to open in fall and Sephora, which will relocate in early 2025 from an interior space at the center. They will join The Lovesac Company, which opened earlier this year on Hawthorn Row.
Hawthorn mall, north and west of routes 21 and 60, was built in 1973. It has been undergoing a comprehensive redevelopment called Hawthorn 2.0.
Centennial launched the project in 2019 to transform the property from a traditional shopping center into a master-planned, mixed-use development with luxury apartments and a variety of retail, dining and entertainment options.
Chief engineer George Barth has worked at Hawthorn Mall in Vernon Hills for 49 years and is its longest-tenured employee. He stands over a model of the Hawthorn Mall property as it will look after the completion of an ongoing $252 million redevelopment in Vernon Hills. The original building is at the right rear.
John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com, 2023