L.L.Bean is gearing up to plant its flag in Naperville this October, with plans for a roughly 16,000-square-foot store at 336 S. Route 59. The outdoor retailer will fill a long-vacant big-box space inside the Westridge Court and Block 59 complex, giving new life to a corridor that has spent years battling empty storefronts. The shop will be L.L.Bean’s fourth Illinois location and ties into a broader push by the company to add new brick-and-mortar stores in 2026. Center owner Brixmor Property Group has cast the lease as a key piece of its effort to reenergize the Route 59 stretch, positioning L.L.Bean as another national anchor alongside Block 59’s growing mix of restaurants and entertainment.
According to reporting by the Chicago Tribune, the new store will occupy 336 S. Route 59 and is scheduled to open in October. The space previously housed Bed Bath & Beyond and has been sitting empty since that chain wound down in 2023, a round of closures that was tracked at the time by Patch. The Tribune also reports that L.L.Bean spokesperson Jason Sulham said the company zeroed in on Naperville because it already has a strong customer base in the region.
Company Says Naperville Is Part Of A National Push
L.L.Bean has slotted Naperville into a list of eight new stores it plans to open in 2026 as part of a wider retail expansion and flagship refresh. In a company release, L.L.Bean said that in-person locations remain central to its omnichannel strategy and that the next wave of openings is designed to bring the brand closer to customers while upgrading the in-store experience. The retailer has framed the 2026 additions as the follow-up act to a strong slate of 2025 launches, signaling that physical stores are still very much in its playbook even as online sales remain important.
Where The Store Fits In Block 59's Makeover
The Naperville L.L.Bean will sit within Westridge Court, next to the Block 59 dining and entertainment district that Brixmor is building at Route 59 and Aurora Avenue. The company has been repositioning that corner with new restaurant pads, a central event plaza and reworked pedestrian walkways, and officials have said the L.L.Bean deal marks the first long-term commitment for this particular big-box space. The broader Block 59 project, a multi-million-dollar redevelopment, has already attracted national restaurant names and aims to turn the Route 59 corridor into a second major destination for Naperville shoppers and diners. For more background on the project and developer comments, see coverage by NBC Chicago and the Daily Herald.
Block 59 has already welcomed several national chains and fast-casual concepts, and developers say dropping an L.L.Bean into the mix should help generate steady foot traffic for the remaining retail spaces. Local officials and leasing experts quoted in existing coverage describe the playbook this way, pair experience-driven dining with destination retail to breathe life back into what had been a high-vacancy big-box strip along Route 59.
For local shoppers, the new store will offer a closer stop for L.L.Bean’s footwear, outerwear and outdoor gear instead of a drive to other Chicago-area locations. Industry reporting notes that the company has been leaning into new physical stores even as e-commerce stays central to its business, part of a broader retail trend toward curated, experience-forward storefronts. For analysis of how that strategy is playing out, see coverage by Retail Dive.
