30,000-Square-Foot Bookstore Coming to Illinois

One bookstore chain is opening its largest store in downtown Chicago this summer. It will be a 30,000-square-foot mega-store.

Come summer 2026, Barnes & Noble will open its largest Chicago location in the Loop. It will occupy a space that was once an Old Navy Store, up until 2023; before that, it was Borders Books.

READ MORE: Dubuque's New Barnes & Noble Has an Official Opening Date

The location is not far from Barnes & Noble College Bookstore, which is part of DePaul University's Loop campus on Jackson Boulevard. The new store is set to anchor State Street's commercial corridor, which has been subject to higher vacancy rates than usual since the COVID-19 pandemic.

After closing dozens of locations across the country, Barnes & Noble has been steadily opening a series of new, smaller stores around the country, including one in Dubuque. The forthcoming State Street store will be one of four locations opening in Chicago, per Vice President of Store Design Janine Flanigan, per Block Club Chicago. Additional stores will be located at:

• Hyde Park (1524 East 55th Street)
• Skokie (relocation inside the Westfield Old Orchard Mall)
• Oak Park (1144 Lake Street)

Since May 2024, Barnes & Noble has also opened stores in Wicker Park and Lincoln Park.

As is the case whenever a corporate giant opens a large-scale store in any community, there's grounds for concern from smaller, neighborhood outlets. There are a bevy of independently run bookstores all across Chicago, including Volumes Bookcafe in Wicker Park; Powell’s Books in Hyde Park; 57th Street Books; and the Seminary Co-Op Bookstore.

Read more about a gigantic new Barnes & Noble coming to Chicago in 2026 on Block Club Chicago's website.