Barnes & Noble plans Chicago expansion, including at Walgreens’ former Wicker Park store

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Barnes & Noble plans to open four stores this summer in the Chicago area, including in Wicker Park and Lincoln Park, as well as in Northbrook and Oswego.

In Wicker Park, the bookseller will set up shop in a historic former bank building previously occupied by Walgreens. The pharmacy chain closed its store in the Noel State Bank Building at 1601 N. Milwaukee Ave. in January 2023.

The property is part of Chicago’s Milwaukee Avenue District, a landmark area recognized as a prominent commercial center since the late 19th century. Principal features cannot be altered without permission of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.

The retailer’s return to Lincoln Park, where it shuttered last spring when its lease ended, “will be a huge benefit for residents and visitors,” said Kim Schilf, president and CEO of Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce, in an email.

“Bookstores offer not only books, but often act as cultural hubs and meeting spaces — especially if they’re planning to include a cafe. We hope they will be involved in the neighborhood and appreciate their investment,” Schilf said.

Online sales from the likes of Amazon, as well as other factors have hurt bookstores and brick-and-mortar shops in general over the years. The number of book shops in the U.S. halved from 12,151 in 1998 to 6,045 in 2019, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau. However, the report said there were still more bookstores than other retail businesses such as department stores, which numbered 3,856.

But recently, Barnes & Noble has opened many new shops after 15 years of declining numbers. Existing stores are “enjoying exceptionally strong sales,” according to a company release. “In 2023, Barnes & Noble opened more new bookstores in a single year than it had in the whole decade from 2009 to 2019,” it said. In November 2023, the company opened 10 stores across the U.S. in that month alone.

“Every community, we think, needs a bookstore,” Janine Flanigan, Barnes & Noble’s senior director of store planning and design, told Crain’s Chicago Business. “We were really missing the Chicago market.”

Barnes & Noble operates about 600 stores in the U.S. and expects to launch more than 50 new shops in 2024. In recent months, it has opened locations in Cincinnati, Ohio, Paramus, New Jersey and Jonesboro, Arkansas and other locations across the country.

Outside of Chicago, the retailer will open new stores at Village Square of Northbrook shopping center and the Prairie Market retail center in Oswego, according to Crain’s.