UPDATED AT 10:15 a.m. Thursday

Of all the stories I've written in the last year, perhaps no other has led to as many phone calls as the news that an American Girl store is coming to Chesterfield Mall.

Well, I'm now happy to report (so people can stop asking me) that the store is scheduled to open in April. It will hold a grand opening on April 21 and 22, but there will be a "soft" opening a couple days earlier, according to a mall spokeswoman.

The arrival of a new American Girl store often creates a lot of buzz not only because of its devoted following, but also because there are so few stores. The Chesterfield store will be the retailer's 12th nationwide and the first in the St. Louis region.

It is holding a job fair this week as it looks for employees for its sales floor, doll hair salon, restaurant, stockroom, and loss prevention. It will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today through Saturday (Feb. 22-25) in a temporary location across from the Old Navy in the Macy's wing.

The American Girl store will no doubt be a boost to Chesterfield Mall, which recently lost its Abercrombie & Fitch store. When I walked through the mall recently, I noticed that the Franklin Covey and Johnston & Murphy stores have also closed. Francesca's Collections is planning to open in the latter location this spring.

But I'm guessing that those other vacant spaces will be a bit easier to fill now that American Girl is moving into the neighborhood.