Barnes & Noble is preparing to open a new bookstore in Chicago, Illinois, adding another location to its growing presence in the region. The company announced that the store will be located at 150 N State Street in The Loop, positioning the bookseller in the center of downtown Chicago.
The space sits within a historic building on State Street that has long been associated with large-format retailers. The property formerly housed a flagship Borders Bookstore and, more recently, was occupied by an Old Navy store. With the upcoming opening, the building will once again be used for a major bookstore operation.
The new Barnes & Noble will span more than 20,000 square feet, according to the company. While a precise size figure was not disclosed, the store is described as exceeding that threshold, consistent with a full-scale, multi-level bookstore format typical of the brand’s larger locations.
This State Street opening marks the fourth new Barnes & Noble bookstore to debut in the Chicagoland area within the same year. The retailer has already added new stores in Skokie, Hyde Park, and Oak Park, signaling a cluster of recent openings across both city and suburban locations.
In a statement, Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt emphasized that re-establishing a presence in The Loop represents a significant commitment to Chicago. He noted that the company has opened four new bookstores in the city and surrounding communities over the past year, underscoring the importance of the market within the company’s U.S. portfolio.
The Chicago expansion contributes to a broader national footprint for Barnes & Noble, which now totals more than 720 bookstores. The return of a large-format bookstore to a long-standing retail building on State Street also maintains the property’s role as a destination for consumers, following its prior iterations under other national retail banners.
Specific details on the store’s planned opening date, interior layout, and any additional co-tenancy within the building were not disclosed. However, the combination of a prominent Loop address, a sizable bookstore footprint, and continued regional expansion positions the new State Street location as a notable addition to Barnes & Noble’s network.
