Amazon has confirmed that it is opening another bricks-and-mortar store, this one in Chicago.
The mega-retailer told the Chicago Tribune that the store will be located in Chicago’s Southport Corridor and is set to open next year. The 7,200 sq. ft. location is on the former site of the Mystic Celt bar and grill at 3433 N. Southport Avenue.
This will be Amazon’s second beach head in Chicago. Last week it announced that it will open its first pickup location in the Windy City later this year. The 2,300 sq. ft. pickup spot will be located at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Student Center East.
Since Amazon opened its first physical bookstore, Amazon Books, in University Village in Seattle last fall, there has been wide speculation about just how deeply Amazon is committed to its bricks-and-mortar business. Despite comments by a mall chain operator CEO in February, when Sandy Mathrani at General Growth Properties said Amazon plans to open 300-400 bookstores, the tech giant has moved relatively slowly on opening additional bricks-and-mortar locations.
Amazon's second physical bookstore, slated for San Diego this summer, has yet to open. A third store is expected to open later this year in Portland, Ore., but no opening date has been set yet.
