Open Books is closing its West Loop bookstore for good after Sunday, Nov. 8, with every title in the shop marked half off through the final day. The nonprofit says declining foot traffic and rising operating costs forced the decision, ending an 11-year run at 651 W. Lake St.
The closure was first reported by Block Club Chicago, which noted that ongoing CTA construction and the Lake Street closure further hurt business at the location, according to Open Books. The nonprofit's own announcement confirms the timeline directly: “Sunday, November 8 will be our last day at 651 W. Lake Street,” Open Books says on its website. From Oct. 23 through closing day, the store is offering 50% off books throughout its shelves, which hold more than 60,000 titles across dozens of genres, including a 10,000-book kids and young adult section.
A Decade-Plus West Loop Run Comes to an End
Open Books first opened a store in River North in 2009 before later relocating to the West Loop, where it has operated at its current Lake Street address since 2015, per the Block Club report. The organization moved its headquarters out of the West Loop and into North Lawndale in 2023, where it now runs literacy workshops and after-school programs, according to the same reporting. Reached for comment on the West Loop closure, an Open Books spokesperson could not be reached, Block Club Chicago reported.
After Nov. 8, the nonprofit's remaining bookstore will be its Pilsen location at 905 W. 19th St., which will become Open Books' only storefront. Open Books says it will consolidate the rest of its West Loop inventory into Pilsen, offering a curated selection of what's left from the Lake Street shop. The West Loop store currently operates noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Thursday and 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday, while the Pilsen shop keeps hours of 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Second Closure in a Year Points to Deeper Strain
The West Loop shutdown follows the closure of Open Books' Logan Square location, which operated in that neighborhood for three years before shutting down on March 1 after financial struggles, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Open Books cited financial and operational challenges for that closure as well. With Open Books gone, City Lit Books at 2523 N. Kedzie Blvd. became Logan Square's only bookstore, the Sun-Times reported.
The nonprofit has said its broader mission has become harder to sustain since the pandemic amid changes in funding and priorities, per the Sun-Times report. Open Books relies on revenue from its traditional storefronts to help fund book access and literacy programs across Chicago, the outlet noted. That funding model underpins programs like the free children's bookstore in Pilsen, book grants, and book nooks described on the nonprofit's programs page, along with North Lawndale Reads, an ongoing campaign designed to increase literacy among North Lawndale residents.
Open Books was founded in 2006 and has continued finding new ways to reach readers even as its retail footprint shrinks. Last year, the organization launched a traveling bookstore housed in a truck, which debuted June 8, 2025, at a summer kickoff event along Douglas Boulevard near the Lawndale Pop-Up Spot, according to a Block Club Chicago report. That same reporting noted the nonprofit has given more than 1.3 million books to nearly 47,000 students since its founding, a track record that now rests increasingly on its single remaining storefront in Pilsen.
