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Barnes & Noble celebrates Union County store relocation with famed NJ author (updated)
Kimberly Redmond//March 7, 2023
Barnes & Noble celebrates Union County store relocation with famed NJ author (updated)
Kimberly Redmond//March 7, 2023
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After the lease for Barnes & Noble’s store in Springfield expired in February, the popular bookseller chain is relocating to nearby Union.
The new store at Union Plaza (2401 Route 22 W.) is scheduled to open March 8 at 9 a.m. with one of the Garden State’s most well-known authors, Harlan Coben, cutting the ribbon and signing copies of his books.
This year, Barnes & Noble expects to open more than 30 new stores, with Union Plaza being the first to debut in the area since 2008.
“We are so glad to be moving such a short distance into a great new location,” said store manager Nicola Sterling, a Barnes & Noble bookseller of seven years. “The whole team is excited to show off the fresh new store, and how we’ve curated it with our local readers in mind. We cannot wait to build new memories with this wonderful community.”
James Daunt, Barnes & Noble chief executive officer, said, “We are very pleased to continue what has been a very happy 30 years of bookselling in Union County. Thank you to the many customers of our Springfield store for their outpouring of support when the closure of our store was announced.”
He went on to say the “truly stunning and completely redesigned” store showcases “how far bookstore design has advanced in the past three decades” and that the local team “has been hard at work creating an impressive and inviting bookstore tailored to their community.”
In announcing the Union Plaza opening, Barnes & Noble said it is “experiencing a period of tremendous growth, buoyed by a reading renaissance and renewed enthusiasm for physical bookstores,” and that it launched more new stores last year than it had since 2009.
After a prolonged struggle to compete against Amazon and other online retailers, Barnes & Noble has been busy growing its brick-and-mortar footprint, leading an effort that The Wall Street Journal described as “a big box real estate revival.”
At its peak in 2008, Barnes & Noble had nearly 730 locations throughout the U.S. Now, it has about 600 stores nationwide, including 17 in New Jersey.
The relocation of Barnes & Noble from Springfield to Union comes after the chain failed to reach new leasing agreements with landlords of two other stores in New Jersey.
The bookseller’s longstanding store at 1180 Raritan Road in Clark was shuttered in June 2022. Its location at 765 Route 17 in Paramus is scheduled to close March 18, but recently unveiled plans to reopen at 634 Route 17 in Paramus.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 4:21 p.m. ET March 7, 2023, to correct the author’s last name.
