which barnes and nobles are closing
Barnes & Noble as a company is not broadly shutting down; only a small number of individual stores are closing, mostly due to lease and real‑estate issues, while many more new locations are opening.
Quick Scoop
- A longtime Barnes & Noble at The Shops at Pembroke Gardens in Pembroke Pines, Florida, has announced it will close on January 18, 2026, after about 17 years in business, citing the end of its lease.
- Local reporting notes this follows the earlier closure of a West Kendall store in the Miami area, while other nearby Barnes & Noble stores have opened or remain in operation.
- Discussion among readers and employees online suggests that in some markets, older locations are being closed or moved and replaced with newer, smaller or better‑located stores, rather than the chain exiting those cities entirely.
Where Closures Are Happening
Known recent or upcoming closures (not an exhaustive national list):
- Pembroke Gardens (Pembroke Pines, FL): Store closing January 18, 2026, due to lease ending; customers are being directed to another nearby Barnes & Noble in Pembroke Pines.
- West Kendall (Miami area, FL): Closed in 2025; local coverage ties this into a broader reshuffling of Barnes & Noble locations in South Florida.
- Online conversations also reference individual stores closing or relocating in places like Minnetonka, Minnesota, but these are typically one‑off local changes tied to landlord or relocation decisions, not a national shutdown.
Because these decisions are usually tied to specific leases, there is no single public master list of “all Barnes & Noble stores closing.” Local news outlets and store social media pages tend to break the news first.
Big Picture: More Openings Than Closings
- After years of net store reductions, Barnes & Noble is now in an expansion phase and has announced plans to open about 60 new stores in 2026 in states such as California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Washington, D.C.
- Business coverage emphasizes that these new leases come after “nearly two decades of store closures,” meaning today’s scattered closures are part of a longer real‑estate reset rather than a new collapse.
- Commenters in book forums stress that headlines about “beloved locations closing” can sound like the whole chain is in trouble, but in reality only a small number of stores are shutting while many more are set to open.
Why Your Local Store Might Close
Common reasons mentioned in news and forums:
- Lease and landlord changes : Malls being redeveloped, rent hikes, or demolition plans (for example, concerns about the Sunset Place location in South Miami as the complex is slated for redevelopment).
- Relocation rather than disappearance: Some markets see an old store close while a new one opens nearby, sometimes with different staffing or layout.
- Format and strategy changes: The company is shifting toward somewhat smaller, locally curated stores while still keeping a national footprint.
How To Check Your Specific Store
If you want to know whether a particular Barnes & Noble is closing:
- Check that store’s Google Maps listing and official website page for “closing” banners or last‑day notices.
- Look at local news outlets or community sites; lease‑driven closures like Pembroke Pines are usually covered in city or regional news.
- Follow the store’s own social media accounts (many locations post closing or relocation notices there before anywhere else).
Bottom line: Right now only select individual Barnes & Noble locations are closing, usually tied to leases or relocations, and the chain overall is actually expanding with dozens of new stores planned.