The largest-ever Barnes & Noble store in Chicago is opening downtown this summer

Barnes & Noble is back in Chicago in a big way. This summer, the country's largest bookseller will open its biggest Chicago store yet: a 30,000-square-foot flagship at 150 N. State Street, right in the heart of the Loop. The space was once home to Old Navy and, which closed in 2023. Before that, the rival chain Borders Books claimed the space.

The three-floor store will be one of four Barnes & Noble locations opening in the Chicago area this year. State Street has struggled with high vacancy rates since the pandemic, and a major bookstore moving in is a welcome addition that signals foot traffic is on the rise.

Design work is still underway, and the opening may happen in phases. The store will include a café, though it may not be complete until a later phase.

In the past year, the company opened stores in Wicker Park—inside the historic Noel State Bank building—and in Lincoln Park at Clark and Diversey. Hyde Park will get a new store at 1524 E. 55th Street, while the Westfield Old Orchard location in Skokie is relocating to a larger, two-story space. An Oak Park store is also on the way, set to open in the former Marshall Field & Co. building on Lake Street.

"The Chicago market is a very important one for us, and we're really happy to be opening in the Loop and to open a store of this size," said Janine Flanigan, vice president of store design for Barnes & Noble, told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Nationally, Barnes & Noble is growing at a rapid pace, with 60 store openings planned for 2026. After more than a decade of closures, the chain has staged a comeback, boosted by new leadership and the power of TikTok's "BookTok" community. Additionally, a new push to allow individual stores to customize layout, book selection and events has made each store more unique. In 2023 alone, the company opened more new bookstores than it did over the entire decade before that.

For Chicago, the Loop flagship marks the return of a familiar brand to a familiar address, hopefully attracting readers to browse shelves and linger.