Barnes & Noble is set to open four Chicago area stores in the first half of the year, including its largest Chicago location in the Loop.<\/p>\n
The company confirmed plans to open a 30,000-square-foot flagship location at 150 N. State St. in June. The space was last home to Old Navy, before it closed in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Chicago market is a very important one for us, and we\u2019re really happy to be opening in the Loop and to open a store of this size,\u201d said Janine Flanigan, vice president of store design for Barnes & Noble.<\/p>\n The bookseller\u2019s national expansion plans have been booming \u2014 2025 saw 58 locations open and 60 stores are planned this year.<\/p>\n In 2024, the company opened a store in Wicker Park at the historic Noel State Bank building<\/a> and a Lincoln Park store at Clark Street and Diversey Parkway.<\/p>\n \u201c[Both locations] have been hugely successful,\u201d Flanigan said. \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten so many customer compliments and so much activity in both of those locations.\u201d<\/p>\n Other store openings planned include Hyde Park, at 1524 E. 55th St., and a relocation at the Westfield Old Orchard mall in Skokie. Both are scheduled to open at the end of February, the company said.<\/p>\n An Oak Park store is also opening in May at 1144 Lake St., the former Marshall Field & Co. building<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Loop location is still in the early stages of design and development, and it may open in multiple phases, Flanigan said.<\/p>\n The three-floor store will also include a cafe, which will likely not be part of the initial opening phase.<\/p>\n