Barnes & Noble is now open in Reston after closing a decade ago

Barnes & Noble has officially opened a new chapter in Reston.

The national bookstore opened its newest location today (Thursday) at The Spectrum at Reston Town Center — space formerly occupied by Office Depot. The store opened at 9 a.m. with a ribbon-cutting by author Tania James, who also signed copies of her latest book “Loot.”

The opening marks a comeback for the bookstore, which had a store in the same shopping center nearly a decade ago.

Elisabeth Swift, the store manager of the Reston location, said opening the Reston location was an “obvious choice.” While working at other Barnes and Noble locations in the D.C. area, Swift said she frequently heard from customers lamenting the closure of the Reston store in 2013.

“Reston has been a community that has been passion about books and reading books forever,” Swift said.

When asked to comment on what the bookstore adds to the local mix — local bookstore Scrawl Books has a location in Reston Town Center — Swift said that the company is used to being in communities with other bookstores.

“The more bookstores the better, in my opinion,” she told FFXnow.

The nearly 28,000-square-foot store features a B&N Cafe, along with books, toys and gifts.

In a statement, the company noted that Reston’s location is the first to open in Fairfax County since 2019. The store was originally expected to open yesterday (Wednesday).

The Reston location will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays and between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m on all other days.

Grand opening day featured other events like storytime with Pete the Cat at 11 a.m. and book signings with author Liz Lawson. The store will host additional story times, author signings, and other special events over the next month.

One customer who recalled frequenting the old Reston Barnes & Noble said the new store is bigger, both in physical size and the amount of materials being sold. A self-described bibliophile, he was particularly interested in the history and current events sections.

“I’m quite pleased. I’ll hang out here sometimes,” he said while sitting at the cafe.

Reston resident Nicole Harker stopped by the grand opening with her two kids, who were drawn to the Legos in the children’s area.

“It’s a nice thing to have in Reston,” she said. “It’s a place I might take the kids to during the day. During the hot summer or if it’s too cold out for winter, we could come hang out here.”

Angela Woolsey contributed to this report.