Owner Summer Megdadi plans to transform former Card Carousel into luxury boutique for art, decor, and furniture
By Josh Bootsma
LANSING, Ill. (May 3, 2021) – It was a road closure years ago that forced Summer Megdadi to drive down Ridge Road from Munster to get to the highway. As she drove through downtown Lansing, the historic area captured her attention as an ideal spot for a high-end boutique she was hoping to open. Countless phone calls, estimates, and walk-throughs later, Megdadi hopes to open Cadou Decor before the end of the year.
Planned to display and sell high-end art, decor, furniture, and other acessories, Cadou Decor will open at 3336 Ridge Road, a building which after many years still housed much of the vast inventory of its former occupant, Card Carousel.
Emptying the space
After purchasing the building, clearing the old inventory became the priority for Megdadi. As some Ridge Road pedestrians have noticed over the years, the former Card Carousel has remained largely untouched since its closure, with card displays still intact.
Megdadi said some of those displays had been exposed to water and some cards had mold on them.
“It was unbelievable,” she said of how much inventory was still left in the building.
After an expensive and lengthy process, the long store area is now clear and is nearly ready for other work to begin.
Part of that lengthy process was donating what was still usable to local organizations. Megdadi said she donated to Hearts in Motion, Humane Indiana, Bible for Missions, and a Hammond woman who was planning to sell items to help raise money for her son’s mission trip.
Future vision
Megdadi, who has a career as a civil engineer on top of her entrepreneurial aspirations, has an exhaustive vision for the building and knows exactly what type of work needs to be done — from the cracking concrete by the back entryway to the finishing flourishes of the decor inside.
She also has a vision for the ways she wants to help people with her business.
“I have a lot in mind, to be honest, when it comes to decor and helping women decorate their houses,” Megdadi said. “Because women, they look at a magazine and see all these beautiful homes and say, ‘Oh, this is something I can’t do.’ No. They can — it’s very easy.”
Megdadi’s home in Munster, Indiana was featured in the Northwest Indiana Times’ Inspired Living Magazine in 2016. The house can be viewed here starting on page 34.
Although Megdadi’s home largely has traditional decor, she says Cadou Decor will have a combination of both contemporary and modern styles.
Beyond the boutique
Beyond the high-end boutique, which will also sell some of Megdadi’s own artwork, she hopes to make use of the rear of the building as well, which has a beautiful view of Fox Pointe. She’s toyed with different ideas for how to use the space to draw interest from Fox Pointe attendees, but has not yet made any solid plans. She also has a whole basement to work with, and is not yet sure how it will ultimately function.
Above the future Cadou Decor sit four apartments, which Megdadi says are nearly finished and are ready to be rented out. Having tenants pay rent in the apartments will not only help Megdadi offset the costs of her business, but will allow her building to be classified as a “mixed use” structure, meaning she will pay less in property taxes.
Though much is planned for the building, Megdadi is focusing now on her primary business on the main floor.
“I do have a lot of ideas. But I want to go step by step first,” she said.
Cadou Decor will be located at 3336 Ridge Road.
Related
- Cook County Assessor responds to Lansing businesses’ property assessment concerns (April 9, 2021)
- Lansing approves QuikTrip gas station at former Kmart location (February 6, 2021)
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