Cookbooks, rare books and the odd piece of nonfiction filled customers’ arms during the first week at Open Books’ new Logan Square location.
A nonprofit dedicated to children’s literacy, Open Books operates three shops and an online store to fund free books for children and classrooms across the city.
The storefront at 2068 Milwaukee Ave. opened on Jan. 18. Logan Square residents were eager customers, bringing in tens of thousands of dollars in the first week, according to Eric Johnson, executive director of Open Books.
“I told my staff that the response that we got during our first week was something that I would have expected after a few weeks,” Johnson said.
With the expansion, Open Books became the city’s largest used bookstore chain. The nonprofit maintains stores in the West Loop and Pilsen, as well as a holiday pop-up store in Ukrainian Village.
Logan Square is already home to many longtime book donors, Johnson said.
“People are simply just thrilled that we’re in the neighborhood,” he said. “These are new friends and old alike.”
With Logan Square up and running, Open Books now maintains around 70,000 books. Most are donated, but the staff occasionally purchases overstock books to ensure diverse offerings in the stores, Johnson said.
The organization often buys children’s books featuring Black and Latino characters or written by Black and Latino authors.
“Whenever we’re granting free books to children and their families, those books should be able to speak to those children and families,” Johnson said.
Open Books funds youth literacy programming with store profits. The impact of books bought in Logan Square is felt in Austin, Garfield Park and schools on the South Side, Johnson said.
“We typically aim to situate our programs in neighborhoods that have been disenfranchised and marginalized historically,” he said. “By poverty, and most importantly, a general lack of resources and access to resources.”
About 200 children across Chicago attend after-school programs hosted by Open Books. The organization also partners with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to send children a free book every month from birth to age 5.
In the store, books retail for $1 to $10, with a limited collection of rare books for $25 to $100.
Before moving into the 4,000-square-foot storefront, carpenters installed a bathroom, a back staircase, 130 bookcases and a front desk. Local artist Nick “Sick” Fisher painted a mural on the building’s facade.
Renovation costs came in the “upper five figures, lower six figures,” Johnson said.
Open Books staff and volunteers have hosted poetry slams, book fairs and readings in West Loop and Pilsen. Similar events will take place at the Logan Square store, Johnson said.
Johnson and the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce also hope the storefront will drive more foot traffic to Milwaukee Avenue. Several storefronts near Open Books are empty, Johnson said.
“Independent bookstores are the lifeblood of a community,” Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) said in a statement. “Milwaukee Avenue in Logan Square has been longing for a space like Open Books for a while.”
Leading up to opening day, Open Books hosted pop-up bookstores outside Logan Square businesses including Revolution Brewing, Comfort Station, Middle Brow and Damn Fine Coffee.
As the bookstore continues to endear itself to Logan Square, Johnson plans to move some donation boxes elsewhere, expanding Open Books’ reach.
“We couldn’t be happier with the choice we made,” Johnson said. “And we only anticipate that that particular strip where we’ve located will continue to flourish.”
