
(Updated at 11:25 a.m.) Barnes & Noble is turning a page on its history at The Spectrum at Reston Town Center.
The company plans to open a location in the spring of 2023, 10 years after shuttering its location in the same shopping center at 11816 Spectrum Center. It will occupy nearly 28,000 square feet of space in the shell vacated by Office Depot. (Correction: The previous Barnes & Noble at The Spectrum closed in 2013, not 15 years ago as initially reported.)
“The tide has turned for real booksellers, with both Barnes & Noble and independent booksellers opening new stores at an unprecedented rate after well over a decade of declining numbers,” Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt said. “The return of Barnes & Noble to Reston is emblematic of this success. Further, we do so with the largest new bookstore to be opened anywhere in the United States in the last ten years. It will be a very exciting bookstore.”
The Reston location will also include a BN Cafe.
“We are building exceptionally beautiful new bookstores and it will be dramatic to do so across 28,000 [square feet] in our new Reston store,” said Barnes & Noble Vice President of Stores Amy Fitzgerald. “The bookselling team is eager to return and get to work curating an exceptional bookstore.”
As the company readies to open its Reston location, locally owned bookstores like Scrawl Books in Reston Town Center continue to cement their place in Reston’s book scene.
Scrawl Books at least has no intention of going anywhere, owner Rachel Wood said in a statement to FFXnow:
We opened after the big box chains left, but we have no intention of closing now that they’re coming back. We live here and we’re committed to being here. Reston is full of engaged, passionate people who appreciate what only a local bookstore can provide. We’ll continue to support local schools and libraries, and we’ll continue to connect readers with great books and authors. Everyone who comes in the door knows they’ve found a cozy space run by real book lovers. We’ll be here in our community for a long time to come.
Office Depot closed in The Spectrum nearly one year ago.
Barnes & Noble currently has five locations in Fairfax County, including stores in Tysons Corner Center, Merrifield’s Mosaic District, Seven Corners, Springfield and Fair Lakes. There is also a store at One Loudoun in Ashburn.
Photo via Google Maps
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