Longtime Belleville-based business plans to open new store at former Weekends Only site

The former Weekends Only site at 51 Commerce Lane in Fairview Heights may soon have a new tenant.

Mueller Furniture, LLC, wants to open a retail furniture store in the 90,000-square-foot facility, according to a Business Assistance Program application submitted by Lynwood Mueller to the city government.

Dallas Alley, Fairview Heights land use and development director, said in a brief phone interview that Mueller Furniture still needs formal approval from the city’s financing committee and city council before the project can begin.

“We will be opening a retail furniture store,” Mueller wrote in the application. “This will avoid having a large empty retail building in that area. This is a much larger building than we planned on and we require assistance for this to be possible. Initially only cosmetic changes like exterior painting will [be] done.”

Alley wrote in a May 22 memo that Mueller Furniture, LLC, requested the following:

• An amount not to exceed $300,000 in assistance from the City for remodeling the existing building from the Lincoln Trail Tax Increment Financing District;

• An amount not to exceed $550,000 in sales tax rebate over no more than 10 years;

• A sales tax waiver as permitted under Illinois state law as it applies within the Fairview Heights Enterprise Zone.

He said that the application will be recommended for approval.

When Weekends Only was open, said Alley, it averaged around $10 million in sales annually.

He said that Mueller Furniture coming to Fairview will be good for the city and good for the business.

“It’ll be a good fit for them,” said Alley.

In a separate phone interview, Lynwood Mueller said the plan is to consolidate their warehouses to one location.

For the last year and a half, the business searched for a new location for a warehouse.

Mueller said potential sites included the former Kmart on Westfield Plaza Drive, former Schnucks on Carlyle Avenue and the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds, all in Belleville, but none of those panned out.

Current owner and president Mark Mueller, Lynwood’s son, said in a separate interview that they explored many properties, including the three Belleville sites.

They had agreements on price with the owners of each of the three properties, he said, but were unable to get any of them under contract.

“We frankly never expected the [Weekends Only] building to come up for sale,” said Mark Mueller.

Lynwood Mueller said that the site will “take care of our warehouse needs” and offers an opportunity to have another showroom.

There’s enough space to provide a more centralized location for the company’s office, said Mark Mueller, allowing them to improve everything about the company.

He said they’re thrilled to move into a turnkey type of situation.

Provided all goes smoothly, they will close on the property the first week of July. Mueller Furniture and Mattress Warehouse Showroom will be open by Labor Day, if not sooner, according to Lynwood Mueller.

All three of Mueller’s other stores, including their longtime Belleville site, will not be affected by the opening of the new place.

“We’re not closing the Belleville store,” said Lynwood Mueller. In fact, improvements are currently being made to the original store.

Mark Mueller said a three-phase improvement project is in progress.

The first phase consisted of new signage and paint to the store’s exterior.

Phases two and three include removing the pegboard walls on the inside, painting walls and installing new flooring, according to Mark Mueller.

Showroom two, which sustained more damage in a 1978 fire, will also be opened up a bit to reveal more if its historic style.

The two Missouri locations, in Lake St. Louis and Ellisville, will also remain open.

Lynwood Mueller said the City of Fairview Heights, particularly Alley, Mayor Mark Kupsky and former Economic Development Director Paul Ellis, who retired last month, were “just so accommodating” getting the project to come to fruition.

They made the decision to move to Fairview Heights an easy one, he said.

About Mueller Furniture

Located at 1004 E. Main St. in Belleville, Mueller Furniture was founded by John Mueller in 1927, who ran the business until his death in 1952.

The business was taken over by his sons Roland and Les Mueller.

Roland Mueller died in 1960. Les Mueller retired in the 1970s.

A second store opened in March 2017 in Lake St. Louis, Missouri. By then, the business was under the leadership of Lynwood Mueller, who retired in January 2022.

He is still involved as an owner of the business and its buildings.

A third location opened in Ellisville, Missouri, in May 2021.

Mark Mueller currently serves as the business’ fourth generation owner and president.

For more information, visit muellerfurniture.com. Call 618-233-0667 for the Belleville store, or 636-234-3361 for either Missouri store.