Book News
One-of-a-kind Barnes & Noble bookstore concept closes Plano location
A unique version of national bookseller chain Barnes & Noble, located at Plano shopping center Legacy West, has closed the book for good.
The location was a combination bookstore and restaurant, a limited-edition concept for the national chain and the only one in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.
The location has been removed from Barnes & Noble's website, and the company issued a statement, saying, "We can confirm that we are closing our bookstore at Legacy West. The store and restaurant were well-received by customers and we have appreciated their support. However, we have made the difficult decision to close the store to focus energy and resources on improving our other bookstores in Texas and around the country, as well as opening new stores."
"We also want to thank our wonderful booksellers," it said. "The store has been closed since March due to COVID-19, but we have worked with booksellers who wanted to transfer to one of our other Texas stores."
The location debuted in 2017 with a smaller retail space for books, but with an upscale casual American restaurant called Barnes & Noble Kitchen. It was the first of its kind in Texas and one of only a handful in the U.S.
The restaurant was situated at the front of the bookstore, and served sandwiches, salads, burgers, deviled eggs, soup-and-salad combos, avocado toast, and hummus with veggies. They also had beer, including local craft labels; and wine, including wine on tap.
The store also housed B&N benchmarks such as a newsstand, art supplies section, and children's area.
Barnes & Noble has been shifting since August 2019 when it was acquired by Elliott Management, a hedge fund company that also owns a U.K. chain called Waterstones.
Management has been plotting to phase out larger stores in favor of smaller, more intimate locations. The Barnes & Noble Kitchens were conceived by prior management, a company spokesperson said.
In March, Barnes & Noble temporarily closed more than 400 of their 627 stores in the U.S., in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of their locations have reopened, including 15 stores in the DFW area, including Plano, Dallas, Frisco, Garland, Lewisville, Hurst, Arlington, Southlake, Denton, and Fort Worth.
The company encourages Plano-area customers to visit nearby locations at Stonebriar Centre in Frisco, or the Plano location at Preston and Park, as well as online shopping at bn.com.
The chain has also opened two brand new stores in Schaumburg, Ilinois and Sarasota, Florida, and has another set to open in Rockville, Maryland in August.
