Cult brand Baggu to open second Chicago store in Lincoln Park
Baggu, the California-based bag and accessories brand, plans to expand its Chicago footprint with a second store in Lincoln Park.
The new location is expected to open at 2118 N. Halsted St., according to a city permit filing. The 2,200-square-foot space was previously home to It's A Secret Medspa.
Records show Baggu filed a permit last month to renovate the space, as well as permits in February for signs. It's unclear when the store will open.
The area was designated a Chicago landmark in 2003, which means the permit approval process includes a landmark review. The city’s Department of Planning and Development didn't respond to a request for comment regarding the status of Baggu's approval process.
Baggu didn't respond to a request for comment.
The building’s owner, Chicago developer Fred Latsko, on Tuesday confirmed Baggu’s plans to open. Latsko has owned the building since 2005, according to property records. He owns a number of retail properties in the city, including 901 W. Kinzie St., where Guinness opened its first Chicago brewery.
Speculation over Baggu opening a second location ramped up when the brand posted a job opening for a Chicago store manager to its Instagram account. The job posting was uploaded to LinkedIn April 1.
The brand’s new location is in a highly trafficked retail and dining corridor. Nearby businesses include boutique fitness studios like Solidcore, Barry’s and Orangetheory Fitness, as well as the popular restaurant Café-Ba-Ba-Reeba. The shop is also about two blocks away from the Armitage L stop, where trendy retailers like Buck Mason and Gorjana have outposts.
Baggu's popularity, particularly among Gen Z, has surged over the last several years, picking up steam thanks to consumers posting on social media platforms like TikTok, where users tout the nylon bags’ unexpectedly large capacity and fun prints.
The retailer has six stores, including its first Midwest store in Wicker Park that opened in 2024. At the time, hundreds of shoppers lined up to purchase bags and accessories on its opening day, with some traveling from other states to snag goodies. A seventh location in Portland, Oregon, is expected to open in May.
Stephen Stananhan, head of retail at Baggu, previously told the Chicago Sun-Times that Wicker Park had the highest number of customers purchasing their product.
“It’s logical to plant roots for a few reasons. One, it’s the third-biggest market for us on baggu.com after New York and Los Angeles, and we think we could serve them better by having a physical store for them to shop and experience our brand in person,” Stananhan said.
The brand is known for collaborating with artists and other brands like Sanrio and Major League Baseball. Its shopping bag, which can fold into a small pouch, starts at $16. In recent years, it has expanded to include recycled leather purses, starting at $90, as well as accessories such as socks, toiletry bags and glasses cases, at prices ranging from $10 to $46.