Barnes & Noble will open new stores in Littleton, Mass., Atlanta, Ga., and Ontario, Calif., tomorrow, October 21.
The Littleton store will reside in the Point, a newly constructed building at 350 Constitution Way. The store will span more than 19,500 square feet and will include a B&N Cafe. The store will open to the public at 9 a.m. Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting and signing featuring local author Liana Cincotti (A Summer of Stars). The costumed character Biscuit the Dog will also make an appearance.
Located in the Toco Hills neighborhood, the new Atlanta store will occupy a 14,000-square-foot space in the Toco Hills Shopping Center at 2943-C North Druid Hills Rd. It does not include a B&N Cafe. James Dean, author of the Pete the Cat series, will be on hand at 10 a.m. Wednesday for a ribbon-cutting and signing, along with the costumed character Peter the Cat. The company noted that it has been busy in Atlanta recently: in July, it reopened a store in Edgewood; in August, it closed its store in Cumberland; and next it will relocate its Peachtree Corners store.
In Ontario, the new store will reside in a 23,000-square-foot space in the Ontario Mills shopping center at 4449 Mills Circle and feature a B&N Cafe. Local author Susan Straight will cut the ribbon before signing copies of her novel Mecca; the costumed character the Cat in the Hat will also be there. B&N noted that Ontario Mills is one of the largest one-level malls in the country, and with the new store's opening, there will be nine B&N stores in California's Inland Empire.
B&N plans to open 60 stores this year. The chain now has more than 730 bookstores across the U.S.; in 2023 there were fewer than 600.