Barnes & Noble to open first Phoenix store in 20 years amid major expansion

Article originally posted on Phoenix Business Journal on June 19, 2025

After years of mostly closing stores, bookseller Barnes & Noble announced it is set to open its first new store in the Phoenix area in 20 years.

On June 25, Barnes & Noble will hold a ribbon cutting and grand opening for its new store in Phoenix’s The Shops at Town & Country retail center at 2011 E. Camelback Road. The book retailer has taken over the 18,500-square-foot space once occupied by Forever 21.

“It has been 20 years since we last opened a Barnes & Noble in Phoenix and are very pleased to do so now in The Shops at Town & Country,” James Daunt, the CEO of Barnes & Noble, said in a statement. “Our booksellers are eager to open the doors to this beautiful new Barnes & Noble and our baristas look forward to welcoming patrons into their brand-new B&N Café.”

For the past 15 years, Barnes & Noble has been more focused on closing stores than opening new ones, so the opening of a new location might surprise some, although the company is in the midst of a major expansion. In 2024, Barnes & Noble opened more new bookstores in a single year – 57 new stores, plus four more acquired in Colorado – than it had in the whole decade from 2009 to 2019.

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