Barnes & Noble bookstore ‘must leave’ downtown Naperville in January, store reps say in closure announcement
Barnes & Noble bookstore in downtown Naperville is closing Jan. 21, according to the store’s social media.
The business announced its impending departure and plans to open a new store in Oswego via a letter posted to Instagram Wednesday morning.
“We have such exciting news to share with you — we’ve found a new home!” the store’s letter reads. “We must leave this store, and the new bookstore will be located a short distance away at the Prairie Market Shopping Center” in Oswego.
Barnes & Noble has operated at 47 E. Chicago Ave. in downtown Naperville since 1998. The store is vacating its two-and-a-half-decades-old spot because of an expired lease, according to Janine Flanigan, senior director of store planning and design for Barnes & Noble.
“It was simply that the landlord chose not to renew the lease,” she told the Naperville Sun.
San Diego-based private equity firm LLJ Ventures owns the property at 47 E. Chicago Ave., according to the firm’s website. Company representatives could not be reached for comment.
Flanigan said the store’s departure is bittersweet.
“It’s always sad when we leave a location,” she said. “There’s a lot of emotion attached to it. We are opening a new store, so we are excited about that, but it is difficult for us to close this location.”
Employees of the soon-to-be shuttered business have been given the opportunity to work at other Barnes & Noble locations, Flanigan said.
“It has truly been our honor and privilege to be your bookseller in Naperville for the last 25 years,” the store said in a letter posted on Instagram. “While we’re saddened to vacate our current home, we are so excited to stay nearby and in a beautiful new bookstore.”
Prairie Market Shopping Center, at 2590 Route 34, is about 20 minutes southwest of downtown Naperville.
Last week, the village of Oswego separately announced that a Barnes & Noble was coming to town.
“I couldn’t be happier to welcome Barnes & Noble to our community!” Village President Ryan Kauffman said in a Dec. 21 press release.
“Bookstores are one of my favorite spots. This new addition promises to be a haven for literature lovers and a vibrant hub for intellectual engagement. It’s not only a step forward in enhancing the cultural fabric of our town, but will also elevate and diversify our retail offerings.”
The Barnes & Noble planned for Oswego will take over a nearly 16,000-square foot space previously filled by DSW, Designer Shoe Warehouse, village officials said.
In their letter, the Naperville team lauded the Owego location as a “huge opportunity” to feature a new store design and an updated B&N Cafe.
While Barnes & Noble is transitioning out of Naperville, the national bookseller is still operating nearby in Bolingbrook (631 E. Boughton Road) and Oak Brook (297 Oakbrook Center).
With the departure of Barnes & Noble, Naperville will have two brick-and-mortar bookstores remaining: Half Price Books at 2867 95th St. and Anderson’s Bookshop at 123 W. Jefferson Ave.
Anderson’s owner and Naperville native Becky Anderson said she’s sorry to see the store close.
“A physical space where readers can come and they can look and discover books is important,” she said Wednesday. “So it’s sad when any bookstore closes.”
Anderson recalled when Barnes & Noble opened in Naperville 25 years ago. She said that, at the time, seeing a national chain move into an area her independently-owned bookshop had cornered since 1875 was unnerving.
“Normally, for an independent bookstore anywhere in the country, if a Barnes & Noble … opens near you, the scenario is that it could put you out of business or that you would have at least a big drop in business,” she said. “So when we knew it was coming, we were pretty afraid.”
But over the years, the two bookshops learned to coexist, she said.
Now, however, as Barnes & Noble prepares to close, Anderson said she hopes former B&N customers will “discover Anderson’s.”
“You have a different experience when you go into an independent store than you do of a large chain,” she said. “I really hope this will increase our business and that readers will come and find us because we are a great source of the right book.
“I can’t deny that I’m not also a little bit happy that they’re closing, because I am. We really want to serve our community. We always have, and we hope we can help those customers who used to shop at that store as well.”
Katie Wood, executive director of the Downtown Naperville Alliance, said, “We were saddened to read the news that Barnes & Noble is closing,” but like Anderson, she is looking forward to opportunities ahead.
“(Barnes & Noble has) been a great anchor tenant in our downtown and beloved member of our community for 25 years,” she wrote in an email. “As things evolve and change, we wish them the best and thank them for their contribution to Naperville.
“New details for that prime corner in our downtown will be forthcoming. We look forward to a bright 2024!”
