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| Joseph-Beth in Lexington | |
Barnes & Noble is acquiring Joseph-Beth Booksellers, which has two bookstores and bistros, at the Mall at Lexington Green in Lexington, Ky., and at Rookwood Pavilion in Cincinnati, Ohio. The move continues a pattern of B&N buying longtime independent bookstores that have had financial difficulties. In 2024, B&N bought the Tattered Cover, Denver, Colo., and in 2025, it acquired Books Inc., in the Bay Area in California. In each case, the stores continued to use their traditional names and retained most staff.
Robert Langley, owner of Joseph-Beth Booksellers and owner of Langley Properties, proprietor of the Mall at Lexington Green, said, "This decision was made for the continued success of Joseph-Beth Booksellers. For 40 years, Joseph-Beth has been more than a bookstore. It has been a gathering place for readers, families, local authors, teachers and neighbors. In honoring its importance to the communities its two stores serve and to support its future longevity, this decision was necessary."
B&N and Langley said that the Joseph-Beth "booksellers, author event team, community and event programming and servers will continue on course with the added benefit of Barnes & Noble's resources and modernized operations supporting Joseph-Beth Booksellers' brand and ongoing success."
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| Joseph-Beth in Cincinnati | |
B&N CEO James Daunt said, "Joseph-Beth Booksellers has a storied history and wonderful bookstores, and we are very pleased to ensure their continuity. We especially look forward to welcoming the booksellers of these two distinctive bookstores into the company."
Joseph-Beth was founded in 1986 by Neil Van Uum and Mary Beth Van Uum, sister of Tom and Louis Borders, founders of the superstore chain that went out of business in 2011. The Van Uums expanded Joseph-Beth in Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. In 1997, they acquired Davis-Kidd Booksellers, which had stores in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Jackson.
During the financial crisis in 2009, the company suffered and declared bankruptcy in 2011. Neil Van Uum was planning to purchase the Lexington, Cincinnati, and Cleveland stores from the bankruptcy court, but at the last minute Robert Langley bought them. Van Uum was able to buy the Memphis store with help from the landlord there and renamed it, but it later closed.
One unusual twist to the Joseph-Beth purchase by B&N: the Lexington Herald Reader observed that in August B&N opened a new, expanded store in Fayette Mall, less than a mile from the Mall at Lexington.