As a small crowd waited outside in the chill, acclaimed Chicago-based author Sara Paretsky used an oversized scissors to cut a ribbon opening a new Barnes & Noble, symbolically turning a page on a new era at Westfield Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie.
“There is nothing more exciting than opening a bookstore,” Paretsky exclaimed. “This store is filled with books, so let’s go read them!”
Paretsky was a main attraction for the new incarnation on Nov. 16 of Barnes & Noble, which had had a presence on the Skokie Boulevard side of the mall for 27 years before closing late last year.
That former store was one of the busiest of all the Barnes & Noble bookstores, noted James Daunt, CEO of Barnes & Noble, in a statement, adding that while it was sad to close it, that gave the company a chance to build a new, freshened store.
The book retailer has opened its sequel store in an approximately 20,000-square-foot space on the Old Orchard Road side of the mall, formerly occupied by Toms Price Furniture.
“We learned when we were closing the old location that customers love to come in and browse and discover,” Store Manager Mary Mateer said. “They want to touch and feel the books and see them.”
Upon entering the two-story building, customers first see Paper Source, a stationery and gift store, taking up the first floor.
“We are the first one of a kind to be a full Paper Source store within a Barnes & Noble,” Mateer said, differentiating that other Barnes & Noble stores offer Paper Source products.
Up the escalator, there is the traditional variety of books along with DVDs, magazines and games, sans the café often located at other Barnes & Noble stores.
“Barnes & Noble has been a staple at the center for many years and we are thrilled for its return in time for holiday shopping,“ Westfield Old Orchard Senior General Manager Serge Khalimsky said in a statement. “Bookstores are a nostalgic destination within shopping centers across the nation.”
Mateer said this store location within the mall is temporary – acknowledging temporary could be several years – and awaiting a permanent spot within Old Orchard.
A spokeswoman for Westfield, the owner of Old Orchard, declined to comment on the lease situation. She added that an announcement of a renovation of the entire mall should be coming by the end of the year.
Customers were seen reading all types of materials, but some waited in line to meet and greet Paretsky, the famed writer of detective fiction. She signed books as Chiara, her 10-year-old golden retriever, sat next to her.
She spoke of the importance of physical books.
“I do read on my phone, but the print book is where I really lose myself. When I see a store like this that has come back to life — we all thought it wouldn’t — it is just such an opportunity (for people) to immerse themselves in books,” Paretsky said.
Among those who stopped by to say hello to Paretsky was Philip Bloch, a former student of the author.
He spoke of why he still enjoys going to bookstores even in an age of online book sales.
“I see things that I do not know exist,” Bloch said. “And you meet people.”
The store opens as U.S. print book sales increased every year from 2018 through 2021, according to NPD BookScan, a retail market research firm.
