Barnes & Noble has closed up shop at Tysons Corner Center for the year.
Yesterday (Sunday) was the bookstore’s last day serving customers in the two-level space it has occupied since the mall’s expansion wing opened in 2005. In the month leading up to the closure, shelves were emptied and some areas closed, including the cafe, as the store cleared merchandise through “last chance sale” discounts.
Fortunately for local book lovers, the chain’s absence won’t be felt as long in Tysons as it was in Reston: Barnes & Noble announced that it will return with “a beautiful new store here in Tysons Corner Center,” as first reported by Northern Virginia Magazine.
“We thank our wonderful Tysons Corner booksellers for their many years of hard work and dedication,” the B&N Tysons Corner team said in the announcement. “They, as we, cannot wait to welcome you back into our brand-new bookstore.”
Barnes & Noble is still in the planning and design stages for the new store, but it hopes to reopen in the late spring or early summer of 2025, according to Janine Flanigan, the company’s senior director of store planning and design.
With the move, Barnes & Noble will trade approximately 30,000 square feet of space for a one-level, almost 17,000-square-foot spot that was vacated by Arhaus when the furniture store relocated to Tysons Galleria in 2021.
The store will follow the theme-oriented layout that Barnes & Noble adopted for new locations after CEO James Daunt took over in 2019. Expect “light oak-colored bookcases” with Victorian lace and a “soft pink paint color,” Flanigan told FFXnow.
“The store is designed [by] creating book rooms for categories that lead one on a journey of discovery,” she said. “…The store will house all the best books, toys, games and gifts that our customers expect from their Barnes & Noble store.”
Flanigan confirmed that the smaller location will still have “well curated selections” of DVDs, Blu-Rays, CDs and vinyl music, along with an “updated” B&N Café.
The bookstore’s last days in its current spot came during a busy weekend for the mall, which hosted its second annual Taste of Tysons Corner on Saturday (May 4). Renovations to improve the look and accessibility of some parking garages are also under construction into October.
During its temporary closure in Tysons, Barnes & Noble is encouraging customers to visit its other locations in the Spectrum at Reston Town Center and the Mosaic District in Merrifield. The Northern Virginia Book Crawl showcasing local independent bookstores is also underway.