Nearly a dozen years after losing a major book retail store, The Avenue East Cobb is getting another one.
North American Properties, the retail center’s management company, confirmed to East Cobb News Friday that Barnes & Noble will be filling part of the former Bed Bath & Beyond space by this summer.
The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported earlier Friday at that Barnes and Noble will be testing a smaller concept, occupying 15,000 square feet at The Avenue, much less than its typical 25,000-square-foot size of standalone stores.
It will be the first such smaller store in Georgia, and is “intended to mimic the ambience, coziness and personal touch found in independent bookshops,” the ABC report said.
A story in The New York Times last April said Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt developed the concept, stemming from his days running Waterstones, a major book retailer in his native Britain:
“His theory was that chain stores should act less like chain stores and like more independent shops, with similar freedom to tailor their offerings to local tastes. It worked, and he returned Waterstones to profitability.
“He repeated that approach at Barnes & Noble. . . . Barnes & Noble has also concentrated on selling books, instead of the vast assortment of items that it once carried and that were only tangentially — if at all — related to reading.”
“We’re excited Barnes is coming,” an NAP spokeswoman said, adding that the rest of the BB & B space—which totalled more than 21,000 square feet—will be subdivided.
Borders was a staple of The Avenue in its early years before the company went into liquidation in 2011. That space is now occupied by the Michael’s craft store, which moved from the nearby East Cobb Crossing Shopping Center.
Since then, the East Cobb area has been served by independent and smaller book store chains.
Currently, there’s a Half Price Books location at Woodlawn Square, and Bookmiser operates a independent store on Roswell Road near Robinson Road West.
Barnes & Noble has three other locations in Cobb County, near Cumberland Mall and Town Center at Cobb and at The Avenue West Cobb.
Bed Bath and Beyond closed at The Avenue East Cobb in January 2022 as part of a nationwide reduction in stores, and as it tries to stave off bankruptcy.
The Avenue is currently undergoing a makeover that includes “jewel box” buildings with restaurants and small retail space, a public plaza and valet parking, and is increasing events.
NAP’s overhaul got underway before Christmas, with a portion of the back parking lot fenced off for construction.
Most of that project is expected to be finished by the summer, but the NAP spokeswoman said Barnes and Noble hasn’t given a more specific opening date.
She said several other leases of new retail tenants will be announced in the coming weeks, and that the Lululemon pop-up shop has converted into a full-time store at The Avenue.
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