Powell's Books Chicago, which specializes in used, rare and discounted books, is closing the store in University Village that it opened in 2012, effective December 23. The store had earlier been occupied by a Barbara's Bookstore, which closed because of a lack of traffic.
On its website, Powell's wrote that when approached by the University of Illinois at Chicago about taking over the former Barbara's site, "Having a strong belief in the brick and mortar bookstore and what it brings to a community, Powell's owner Brad Jonas was excited to have a bookstore that included an event space....
"While the issues faced by the previous tenant were taken into consideration before opening, it became clear that the location of the store would be the biggest challenge. Despite our efforts to stock the store with amazing books, to promote the store through print and online advertising and host some incredible authors and events, we were not able to get enough people to come to the neighborhood. In the end there were simply too few customers walking in the door to make the business profitable."
Powell's closed its Lincoln Avenue location last year. It still has a store in the Hyde Park area. Powell's in Chicago has connections to Powell's Books in Portland, Ore., but is a separate business.