A big new Barnes & Noble will open in Austin on Wednesday, November 5, in Southpark Meadows. The 20,000-square-foot store at 9600 S. I-35 Frontage Rd. won’t just focus on books, but also toys, games, magazines, gifts, and more, according to a press release. It will also feature a B&N Café.
The first customers will be able to shop at Barnes & Noble at 10 am. The store will open with help from author Tracy Wolff, who is known for young adult fiction including the Crave series. She’ll cut the ribbon and sign copies of her books. Her latest is It Happened on a Sunday, released in early September.
The grand opening event will also offer $50 discounts on any Nook reading device, and a 40 percent discount on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4k Ultra HD movies. Barnes & Noble Premium and Rewards Members will get additional perks including double stamps on purchases during the grand opening, plus free hot coffee or tea.
This will be Barnes and Noble’s sixth current store in the Austin area, and the farthest south, taking over a space formerly occupied by Office Depot. It is the third in Austin proper. The chain plans to have opened more than 60 new stores by the end of 2025.
“Texas is home to more Barnes & Noble bookstores than any other state, and now we happily add one more to the ranks,” said CEO James Daunt in the release. “Expanding our presence into South Austin has been a priority, and our Southpark Meadows booksellers are eager to welcome customers into their beautiful new Barnes & Noble.”
Austinites may be surprised to see Barnes & Noble expanding after more than 15 years of stores closing, by the release’s count. In 2019, the chain was acquired by hedge fund Elliott Advisors. The company now attributes is own growth to “the strategy to hand control of each bookstore to its local booksellers.”
That doesn’t mean that Barnes & Noble locations are independent bookstores, but they function more like them now with localized inventory and displays, and an increasing proportion of full-time staff hired from within the company. One of those workers is store manager Penny Connally, who has been with the company as a bookseller for 28 years.
“I am very excited to have a new Barnes & Noble bookstore join Southpark Meadows,” said Connally. “The entire team looks forward to serving this fantastic community!”
The Southpark Meadows Barnes & Noble confirms on Instagram that its grand opening follows standard store hours: 10 am to 9 pm daily except Sundays, when they are open from 11 am to 7 pm.