Barnes & Noble to open new Glen Allen store this week

Barnes & Noble is reopening at The Creeks at Virginia Centre about a year after it closed its previous location at the center, which had operated for more than 20 years. (Jack Jacobs photo)

About a year after closing its Glen Allen store, Barnes & Noble is about to open a new, smaller location in the same shopping center.

The bookstore chain is planning to open a new location at 9840 Brook Road on Wednesday, according to a company news release.

The store is a relocation of the Barnes & Noble that operated in the adjacent space in The Creeks at Virginia Centre for more than 20 years until it closed in June 2024.

The new shop is slated to open in a 9,500-square-foot space formerly home to Pier 1 Imports. The new Barnes & Noble is about half the size of its old space at 9850 Brook Road, which was 23,000 square feet.

The new store will have a stock of more than 20,000 book titles in addition to games, toys and gifts. A Barnes & Noble representative previously told BizSense the new location would not have an on-site cafe.

More details about the new store weren’t available. Barnes & Noble didn’t respond to a request for comment.

A grand opening ceremony for the new store is planned for 10 a.m. Wednesday. Maggie Stiefvater, who is from Harrisonburg and is the author of the Raven Cycle series, is scheduled to host the ribbon-cutting and sign copies of her books at the event.

The new Glen Allen outpost is expected to be one of six Barnes & Nobles to open in July. Stores are also opening next month in Maryland, Texas, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and South Dakota, according to the company’s announcement.

Barnes & Noble said that it is in the midst of a period of growth following a 15-year period where it was trimming stores. The company said it opened more new stores in 2024 than it did from 2009 to 2019. The company, which says it has more than 660 stores in the country, plans to open more than 60 stores in 2025.

A TJ Maxx store is planning to open this summer in the former Barnes & Noble space at The Creeks at Virginia Centre. The bookseller is opening in a smaller, adjacent space.

The Glen Allen store’s anticipated reopening date is sooner than the company’s projection shared earlier this year. With the Glen Allen store, the New York-based Barnes & Noble will have four locations in the Richmond region.

The other local stores are at 11640 W. Broad St. in Short Pump, in Libbie Place shopping center, also in western Henrico, and in Chesterfield Towne Center. Barnes & Noble College, a separate company from the bookstore chain, operates two locations on VCU’s campus.

The Creeks also has Dick’s Sporting Goods, Michaels and Ross stores in addition to other tenants. TJ Maxx has taken over the former Barnes & Noble space at the center. Last week, a spokeswoman for the discount retailer said the store was expected to open this summer but didn’t provide a more specific date.

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