Barnes & Noble Opens New Store in Chicago

Author Lindsay Currie to Host Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony and Book Signing at the Grand Opening at 10AM on Wednesday, March 4^th, 2026

Chicago, IL – February 25, 2026

Barnes & Noble is thrilled to announce its second new bookstore to open in the Chicagoland area this year. The new Downtown Hyde Park Barnes & Noble opens on Wednesday, March 4^th.

The new Barnes & Noble is located in Hyde Park Shopping Center (524 E 55th Street, Chicago, IL 60615), in a space formerly occupied by a grocery store, next to Trader Joe’s.

The bustling Downtown Hyde Park area boasts beautiful outdoor spaces and a thriving community to which Barnes & Noble is excited to contribute with more than 18,000 square feet of books, toys, games, magazines, gift items, a Barnes & Noble Café and more. The bookstore marks the return of a major chain bookstore to Hyde Park, following the closure of the Borders Bookstore on E. 53rd Street in 2011.

The bookstore will officially open to the public at 10AM on Wednesday the 4^th, with local author Lindsay Currie cutting the ribbon and signing copies of her middle grades thriller, X Marks the Haunt. Corduroy the Bear will also join the festivities, meeting and greeting young shoppers and hosting a weekend story time.

The new bookstore in Hyde Park is one of two stores grand opening on March 4^th, the other in Colorado Springs, CO. Barnes & Noble is to open two further bookstores in Chicago this summer. Both will occupy historic buildings, the first in the Marshall Field building at 1144 Lake Street in Oak Park, and the second in the Butler Building at 150 N. State Street in the West Loop. By a coincidence, both buildings once housed famously successful Borders Bookstores that closed due the company’s bankruptcy.

Barnes & Noble Premium and Rewards Members will earn double stamps on all purchases made between March 4^th and 8^th. Customers who are not yet Members are encouraged to sign up and start earning stamps and rewards right away.

Everyone who visits the new Hyde Park Barnes & Noble during the grand opening will have access to exclusive deals, like $50 off any NOOK device. Customers can also save 40% on all DVD, Blu-ray, and 4k Ultra HD movies.

“Barnes & Noble cements its return to Chicago after a long absence,” said James Daunt, CEO of Barnes & Noble. “The new bookstores in Wicker Park and Clark & Diversey have been stand-out successes, and are now followed in quick succession with new bookstores in Hyde Park, Oak Park and the West Loop.”

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 bookseller is experiencing strong sales in its existing stores and has been opening many new stores after more than 15 years of declining store numbers.

Having fallen below 600 locations as recently as 2023, it now has over 700 bookstores. In 2025, Barnes & Noble opened more new bookstores in a single year than it had in the whole decade from 2009 to 2019. The bookseller will open over 60 new bookstores in 2026.

The location of this store is perfectly situated within a mile of both Lake Michigan and University of Chicago Hyde Park. The store was specially curated with the community in mind, including special displays featuring local University of Chicago Press titles and other local favorites.

Eileen Rauscher, the store manager of Barnes & Noble Wicker Park, has been helping to prepare the Hyde Park location for its Grand Opening. She said, “We are so excited to be opening the newest Barnes & Noble store in the Hyde Park area! We've already had an overwhelmingly positive response from our neighbors as they walk by and peek in on our progress. Everyone has been so welcoming. We cannot wait to be a part of this community.”

Customers can discover more about upcoming events and news by following @bnhydeparkil on social media.

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