Barnes & Noble Opens New Stores in San Antonio, Austin, and Columbia
Barnes & Noble is proving that physical bookstores aren't going anywhere. The retailer just opened three new locations across Texas and South Carolina, marking another step in its comeback story.
Shopping center developer Big V Property Group announced the new Barnes & Noble stores at Alamo Ranch in San Antonio, Southpark Meadows in Austin, and The Shoppes at Woodhill in Columbia, South Carolina. What's interesting is that all three locations used to house different retailers – two former Office Max stores and a Bed Bath & Beyond – that were completely redesigned for Barnes & Noble's smaller store format.
"Watching the reinvention and reinvigoration of Barnes & Noble shows the continued strength of brick-and-mortar retail, and it is now a critical component of our tenant mixes," said Greg Ix, executive VP of leasing at Big V. "Small, independent booksellers are a vital part of retail, but there really is only one Barnes & Noble."
The numbers tell a remarkable recovery story. Barnes & Noble opened 57 stores in 2024 alone - more than it had opened in the entire decade from 2009 to 2019. The company isn't slowing down either, with plans to open more than 60 new stores in 2025 and a goal of reaching over 1,000 stores nationwide in the coming years.
These three new stores add nearly 75,000 square feet of retail space. The Austin location spans 20,000 square feet, while San Antonio's store covers 18,000 square feet. The South Carolina location is the largest at 25,000 square feet.
Barnes & Noble's success comes from giving local stores more control over what they sell and how they serve their communities. This approach has worked especially well as bookstores become popular hangout spots, helped by the BookTok trend on social media that's got young people excited about reading again.
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"Barnes & Noble deserves serious credit for developing a smaller, community-centric prototype that allows it to take locations of 20,000 sq. ft. or so and serve new markets," said Pat Kelly, VP of leasing at Big V. "It's a tribute to smart retailing."
The company, which operates about 600 stores across the United States, was bought by British investment group Elliott Management in 2019 for $683 million.