Barnes & Noble Opens New Store in Oswego

Barnes & Noble is thrilled to announce the opening of its new Oswego bookstore on Wednesday June 12^th. The new Barnes & Noble is located in the Prairie Market Shopping Center (2590 US Hwy 34, Oswego, IL 60543) in the space formerly occupied by DSW, next to Ulta, Kohl’s and Best Buy.

The bookstore will officially open to the public at 9AM CDT on Wednesday the 12^th with author Sherry Duskey Rinker cutting the ribbon and signing copies of her books. The new location showcases the highly lauded bookstore design seen in the most recent Barnes & Noble store openings, housing all the best books, toys, games and gifts that customers have come to expect from the nation’s premier bookseller. The bookstore will also house an updated B&N Café.

“It’s been 17 years since we’ve opened a Barnes & Noble near Kendall County — and now Oswego is one of two stores in Illinois, and one of four nationwide, to open its doors on June 12^th,” said James Daunt, CEO, Barnes & Noble. “It’s an exciting endeavor to be expanding the footprint of physical bookstores, with no plans of slowing down anytime soon. We look forward to welcoming readers to our new Oswego location just in time for the summer season.”

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 exceptionally strong sales in its existing stores and has been opening many new stores after more than 15 years of declining store numbers. In 2023, Barnes & Noble opened more new bookstores in a single year than it had in the whole decade from 2009 to 2019. The bookseller expects to open over 50 new bookstores in 2024.

The Oswego location is one of four new Barnes & Noble bookstores to open on June 12th, alongside Lehigh Valley Mall, PA; Northbrook, IL; and Selma, TX. Each grand opening has drawn enthusiastic crowds that wrap around the building, filling the store as the ribbon is cut.

“I am ecstatic to be leading the team that brings Oswego’s first Barnes & Noble bookstore to life,” said Store Manager John Crum. “It’s a been thrilling process to enter an empty building on the first day and watch as we’ve built something truly wonderful from scratch. We can’t wait for this store to quickly become a focal point in the community for families, friends, and book lovers.”

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

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About Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest retail bookseller in the United States. The Company has more than 600 bookstores across the United States, as well as its online bookstore at BN.com, the Nook Digital business which offers both e-books and an audio book subscriptions service, the SparkNotes educational service, stationery and gift retailer Paper Source, and the publisher Union Square & Co. General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be found on the Company’s website at www.bn.com.