Carl’s Jr. closing, furnishing store coming to Carson Mall

Carl’s Jr. at Carson Mall is closing Friday and the building will be torn down for parking just west of a new Carson City furniture store going into mall space facing Carson Street next month.

So said Joanne Holmes, leasing executive and asset manager with the California-based mall owner, The Carrington Co. In a Wednesday telephone interview from her Eureka, Calif., headquarters office, Holmes said closing was the choice of the restaurant and the furniture store that will open nearby is called Action Home Furnishings.

Nestor Castillo, manager of the Carl’s Jr. outlet, said the same day his superiors are working toward opening in two other Carson City locations in a few months. He said the goal is to open outlets on East William Street and South Carson Street, with the latter in the vicinity of Carson City’s Toyota dealership.

Castillo said he plans to stay with the company, initially at a Reno outlet and later returning to Carson City when another opens here.

The Carrington Co., meanwhile, reported after Carl’s Jr. closes at the mall, Carson City’s Fire Department will use the building temporarily for training purposes until it is torn down at month’s end to make way for the additional parking. Plans voiced earlier to have Carl’s Jr. move to the south tip of the mall parking area didn’t materialize.

“The owners decided that they would just be closing the store and not be building a new one,” said Holmes. “That’s their decision.”

She said after the vacated Carl’s Jr. building is gone, work on the new parking is expected to begin the week of Oct. 6. She also said Action Home Furnishings is looking toward an October opening in 6,000 square feet of mall space north of Bealls and south of smaller shops. Mall work already is under way just east of the Carl’s Jr. building.

The Dutch Bros. coffee shop for motorists, also on a separate pad outside the mall in the parking lot along Carson Street, earlier underwent a move to the north to clear the area in front of the mall’s new anchor tenants, Bealls and Sportsman’s Warehouse.

Holmes said those two anchors are doing well and the mall is on the upswing as momentum continues in the economic recovery. She looks forward not only to the new furniture store next month, but also to an overall change in the mall’s exterior appearance. “It’s going to look great,” she predicted.