Barnes & Noble is beefing up its presence in the Windy City, plotting to open five new stores across the Chicago area—turning pages in neighborhoods ranging from Wicker Park to Northbrook. In a move that signals a new chapter for the brick-and-mortar giant, these openings include a summer launch at an iconic former bank building at 1601 N. Milwaukee Ave., a historic spot that once housed Walgreens, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
These new outposts, notably in Lincoln Park and Wicker Park, promise to replenish the book-hungry neighborhoods that had seen a Barnes & Noble closure and a Walgreens exit, respectively. Already chalking up plans, the Oswego location at Prairie Market Shopping Center is slated for a springtime ribbon-cutting, while Village Square of Northbrook can expect its shelves stocked by summer, according to the same report.
Kim Schilf, the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, lauded the retailer's Lincoln Park return, one shut down last spring, as "a huge benefit for residents and visitors," in an email procured by the Chicago Sun-Times. Reinforcing the community-centric aspect of bookstores, Schilf stressed their role as cultural hubs, expressing hopes for the store's active neighborhood involvement.
The expansion is set against a backdrop where the likes of Amazon had put a dent in physical bookstore sales, with bookstore numbers in the U.S. dwindling from 12,151 in 1998 to just 6,045 in 2019. Yet, Barnes & Noble's renewed vigor has materialized in the form of more than 50 planned launches in 2024, and a record in 2023 for opening the most stores in any single year since 2009, as an official release unveiled. In a statement by Barnes & Noble obtained by WTTW News, spokesperson Janine Flanigan confidently said, "Barnes & Noble is experiencing a period of tremendous growth right now and we are opening stores across the country."
Looking beyond Chicago, the literary retailer isn't hitting the brakes, with an Indiana store in Schererville's Town Square Shopping Center aiming for a fall unveiling. The strategic expansion adds to an already bustling map of Barnes & Noble locations in Skokie, Oakbrook, Old Orchard, Bolingbrook, Orland Park, and beyond. The upcoming enclave at 1601 N. Milwaukee Ave., resonating with Chicago's rich commercial heritage, is intended to start service in summer 2024, together with the Lincoln Park and Northbrook spots, the company has announced.
