Barnes & Noble is ready to keep Windy City readers stocked with their favorite books, most recently with the opening of a store on State Street in Chicago’s Loop on Aug. 19.
And customers are seemingly ready, too — a line formed down the block on opening day so shoppers could get inside at 9:00 a.m. The store continued to draw large crowds throughout the day.
After 15 years of declining store numbers, Barnes & Noble is focused on expanding its footprint, including opening 60 locations last year. The company opened roughly the same number in 2024.
The retailer credits its success to handing control of each of its stores to local booksellers.
The Loop store is in a building once occupied by Old Navy, and, before that, by Borders until the closure of all of its stores in 2011. It is the fourth new bookstore Barnes & Noble has opened in the Chicagoland area in 2026, following locations in Skokie, Hyde Park and Oak Park.
The State Street location features 20,000 square feet of books, toys, puzzles, games, magazines and gifts. The selection spans two floors, with a third floor that is currently blocked. Barnes & Noble did not answer questions regarding plans for the third floor space or a projected date that it would open.
Book categories highlighted throughout the store include nonfiction, fiction, classics, poetry, history, manga, young readers and cookbooks, among others. The store also sports a Harry Potter section, records, DVDs and CDs, and an area next to the front door dedicated to the city of Chicago.
When shoppers go through checkout, they are greeted with the phrase “words are magic” above the cash wrap. They also may be surprised to discover a fantastic view of The Chicago Theatre in a hallway on the way to the restrooms.
New York Times bestselling author Jasmine Warga, who wrote middle grade novels “The Unlikely Tale of Chase and Finnegan,” and “Other Words for Home” among others, hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony and book signing to celebrate the opening.
The day also featured author events with Becca Grischow, Mikki Kendall and Gloria Chao.
“The Loop presented a wonderful opportunity to bring Barnes & Noble back to a vibrant, high-energy location,” a company spokesperson said in an email to Retail Dive. “We were very pleased to have it work out.”
Barnes & Noble became a private company in 2019 after being acquired by U.K. financial firm Elliott Advisors and currently has over 720 locations. The retailer acquired bankrupt Books Inc. for $3.25 million in 2025 and Tattered Cover for an undisclosed sum in 2024.
“Our strategy remains focused on opening interesting, welcoming bookstores in communities that are excited to have us,” a company spokesperson said.
