- September 13, 2024
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Barnes & Noble has shut down its North Dale Mabry store in Tampa after 28 years but unlike retailers exiting from some markets, it is moving into a new, larger space about a mile north.
The store at 11802 N. Dale Mabry closed Aug. 21. In a note to customers posted outside the store says it will reopen early next year inside a former Bed Bath & Beyond location a few minutes away.
According to a spokesperson for Barnes & Noble, the reason for the move is that the bookseller was unable to renew its lease. (A representative for the property declined to comment on why the lease wasn't renewed.)
The move is the fourth time in the past couple of years the chain has decided to close long-standing local stores and reopen in new locations rather than shut them down permanently.
This is part of a strategy that the bookseller is undertaking nationwide as it looks to remake its footprint at a time when other retailers are simply shutting down and walking away.
The strategy calls for larger, old-format stores to be redesigned with both a new look and a more book-buyer-friendly layout. These changes, say company officials, include brighter colors and furnishings as well placing new releases at the front of the stores.
The changes also allow store employees to better market its selections to its local clientele. A big part of that is installing bookcases with interchangeable parts allowing individual stores to come up with displays that reflect what their customers are looking for, according to the company.
But that efficiency doesn’t mean smaller. In the case of the North Dale Mabry store, Barnes & Noble is moving from a 31,766-square-foot space into one that’s 35,931 square feet.
The changes began in 2019 when Barnes & Noble was bought by the owner of British bookseller Waterstones and James Daunt was named CEO. He replicated what he’d done at Waterstones and applied it to its new American asset, giving stores an open airy feeling. (Daunt is the managing director of Waterstones.)
The turnaround also sparked growth.
After only opening two new stores each year during the decade after 2009, Barnes & Noble opened 16 new bookstores in 2022 and 31 in 2023.
Thus far this year it has opened 38 stores and expects to reach 60 new locations by year’s end, says the spokesperson. Locally, just last year it opened new stores in Tampa, Brandon, Estero and Naples.
The Dale Mabry store, which is in the Carrollwood neighborhood in the northern part of Tampa, opened in August 1996 at a time when the bookselling business was something altogether different.
According to reports from the time, when the Barnes & Noble opened it was the third national book chain within a quarter of a mile.
At Fletcher and Dale Mabry, there was a Walden Books & More and a Borders Books and Music was opening a couple of weeks later at Dale Mabry and Stall Road.
“We're here because this is a great reading community,” a Borders’ store manager told the then St. Petersburg Times about the competition. “I think we can build on that and help each other out.”
Now, nearly 30 years later, neither Borders nor Walden Books exists and the Barnes & Noble is moving.
The new store, when it opens in February, will be at 13123 N. Dale Mabry Highway, in the Palms of Carrollwood shopping center. The space has been vacant since last year.
According to the note to customers outside the Barnes & Noble, the move isn’t going to affect much. While the store will have a new look, it will continue to carry CDs, DVDs and vinyl records and will have a café.
“It’s been an honor and privilege to be your bookseller here in Carrollwood for 28 years,” the note from employees read. “While it saddens us to leave, we look forward to continuing the tradition in our beautiful new Barnes & Noble.”
