Barnes & Noble will open four new locations in the Chicago area in 2026, including a giant store off Michigan Avenue, as part of the iconic bookstore’s major brick-and-mortar comeback across the U.S.
“Barnes & Noble is enjoying a period of tremendous growth as the strategy to hand control of each bookstore to its local booksellers has proven so successful,” the bookstore said in a previous statement about its expansion. “We are experiencing strong sales in our existing stores and have been opening many new stores after more than 15 years of declining store numbers.”
The new stores will join more than 60 others across the country that are opening in new markets, or reopening in locations where Barnes & Noble once served but may have closed.
In Chicago, the bookseller is set to open a store on State Street in the former Old Navy location, Janine Flanigan, VP, Barnes & Noble store design told NBC Chicago. According to Flanigan, the State Street store, at 150 N. State St., will span more than 30,000 square feet, and is in the early stages of design and development.
Also in Chicago, a 18,000 square foot Barnes & Noble will open in early 2026 at 1524 E. 55th St. in Hyde Park, Flanigan said. The bookstore also plans to relocate its popular, two-level store at Westfield Old Orchard to another space within the Skokie mall, Flanigan said, with an expected reopening date in the spring.
In Oak Park, a new, 20,000 square feet Barnes & Noble will open in the former location of the once popular Borders Books and Music. The Oak Park location is set to open in late spring 2026, Flanigan said.
The Hyde Park and the Oak Park stores will include a B&N Café, Flanigan said. In addition to books, all stores will carry a curated selection of gifts, toys, games and vinyl in addition to books.
Other states where store leases are confirmed for 2026 include include Ohio, Texas, Florida, Colorado, Washington state, Washington D.C., California, Virginia and Georgia.
The new stores follow several that have have opened in the Chicago area over the past few years, including one in a historic building in Wicker Park that once housed Walgreen’s famous “Vitamin Vault.” The bookstore also opened in Lincoln Park, Northbrook and returned to Old Orchard after closing its doors in 2021.
The bookstore also recently reopened a number of stores that closed during the 2000s, including in Park Slope, Brooklyn; Long Beach, California; and Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
In some cases, the new stores are in the same locations as ones that closed nearly more than 20 years ago.
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