Semicolon Books is opening a new location in downtown Chicago, Ill., this week, Block Club Chicago reported.
 |
|
| Danielle Mullen outside the new store. | |
Located on the ground floor of the Wrigley Building at 400 N. Michigan Ave., the bookstore will sell candy along with books and feature a comfortable lounge area where shoppers can sit and relax. The book inventory will be broader and more mainstream than at other Semicolon locations, and the candy selection will include things like gummies.
A grand-opening celebration is scheduled for tomorrow, July 12, and store owner Danielle Mullen told Block Club she expects the downtown location to be open until at least January. She plans to start hosting events there in August.
Mullen opened the store in partnership with the Magnificent Mile Association, and the store's rent is being covered by a Storefront Activation Program grant, which is issued by the City of Chicago. She explained that the downtown store is meant to introduce Semicolon to a wider audience: "This is just to introduce the world to us, this space."
Semicolon has a location in Chicago's West Town neighborhood, at 1355 W. Chicago Ave., which debuted in April and focuses primarily on young adult titles. At the same time, another location is in the works for the Garfield Park neighborhood. Originally slated to open earlier this year, that project has been slowed down by construction delays. Last year, Semicolon switched from a for-profit model to a nonprofit model.
"The three spaces in Chicago will be it for us," Mullen told Block Club. "And I'm happy that they're all in three completely different spaces and have three completely different purposes."