More on the Dartmouth Bookstore, Hanover, N.H., which is closing at the end of the year because Barnes & Noble College and the landlord have been unable to agree on a new lease:
Jay Campion, managing trustee for the building's family ownership group, told the Valley News that he laments the closing and has "taken steps to accommodate Barnes & Noble, helping it to downsize from more than 44,000 square feet in 2009--which included property owned by another landlord--to just under 21,700 square feet today," Valley News wrote.
"I'll do whatever possible to facilitate an agreement so that the store will be kept open for the benefit of the greater Upper Valley, Hanover and the Dartmouth community," he told the newspaper.
For his part, B&N College v-p of stores Paul Maloney said, "We're heartbroken. "This is not what we wanted. We loved being in the Hanover community and we wanted to stay.... We just can't keep incurring losses."
The Dartmouth Bookstore has an unusual history. Founded in 1872 by Dartmouth College students, it was bought by the Storrs family in 1883, according to the paper. John Schiffman, who owned the store from 2004 to 2009, brought in B&N to manage the operation, then in 2009 sold the store to B&N College, which usually operates campus stores.
Currently Dartmouth Bookstore doesn't sell academic textbooks and "largely resembles other Barnes & Noble retail stores, save for an abundance of Dartmouth College-themed apparel and accessories," Valley News wrote. "Like many Barnes and Noble locations, it has large children's and young adult sections and includes a Starbucks cafe."