After months of waiting, local book lovers will finally be able to return to the Barnes & Noble at Long Beach’s Marina Pacifica Shopping Center — when it celebrates its grand reopening next week.
The store, 6326 E. Pacific Coast Highway, closed in May to undergo extensive remodeling.
“Here at Barnes & Noble, Marina Pacifica, we’d like to thank you, community, friends and customers alike for all these wonderful years,” the store wrote on social media when it shut down earlier this year. “It has been our privilege to help you find your bookish needs and we are excited to continue doing so in the future. Remember, we are NOT closing forever. We will be back and better than ever.”
Details about the store’s remodel were scant throughout the process, though management did post some photos and videos offering customers a sneak peak of what was to come once the Barnes & Noble officially welcomed back the public.
And now, the time has come for customers to see it with their own eyes.
Barnes & Noble at Marina Pacifica shows a sneak peak of its interior after a major renovation. The store will reopen to the public on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. (Photo courtesy Barnes & Noble).
Barnes & Noble at Marina Pacifica shows a sneak peak of its interior after a major renovation. The store will reopen to the public on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. (Photo courtesy Barnes & Noble).
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Barnes & Noble at Marina Pacifica shows a sneak peak of its interior after a major renovation. The store will reopen to the public on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. (Photo courtesy Barnes & Noble).
The store will host a grand reopening celebration and ribbon-cutting celebration on Wednesday, Nov. 19, to welcome the community back to the store — with some author-related events and special discounts planned for the event.
The two-story Barnes & Noble location originally opened at Marina Pacifica nearly 30 years ago, in November 1996.
“The new design of the Long Beach store,” the company said in a Wednesday, Nov. 12, press release, “showcases the ambition of Barnes & Noble to create exceptional local bookstores that marry the best traditions of independent bookselling with the resources of the historic chain.”
The remodeled location boasts 15,000 square feet, the company said, and have plenty for shoppers to browse, including toys, games, paper and gifting items — and, of course, books. The company didn’t respond to a request for additional information about the upgrades on Wednesday.
“I am very excited to reopen our doors at the Marina Shopping Center,” store manager Luisa Guardado said in the release. “I know our presence has been missed and I’m excited to reengage with this community of readers.”
Barnes & Noble is experiencing a period of growth after a 15 years of declining sales, the company said in its release. The chain had fewer than 600 locations nationwide as of 2023, but that number has now risen to more than 700. Three other locations are also expected to open in California this month alone, the company said, with 14 total new Barnes & Noble stores opening across America in November.
“We are delighted to maintain the tradition of bookselling here in Long Beach as we have for the past 29 years,” CEO James Daunt said in the news release. “That we are able to reopen this beautifully renovated bookstore in time for the height of the holiday shopping season is cause for great celebration.”
The store’s grand opening, meanwhile, will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Special discounts will be available for people who attend, the company said, including $50 of any NOOK device and 40% off all DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD movies.
Barnes & Noble premium members will also get double stamps on all purchases made throughout grand opening weekend, the company said, and people who sign up for memberships on opening day will get a free tote bag.
The event will also feature an appearance from author and illustrator Salina Yoon, who will be on hand to cut the ribbon on the remodeled store, and to sign copies of her newest book, “Kat & Mouse: I Like Cheese!”
Author Kiri Callaghan will also have a book signing for “The Hearth Witch’s Guide to Magic & Murder” from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, the store said on social media.