Bookstores are doing something in the Houston suburbs once thought impossible in the digital age — expanding. Part of that strategy involves tacking a crack at retail real estate abandoned by other national chain stores.
Barnes & Noble is gearing up for three store openings across the metro area as part of a nationwide growth strategy, the Houston Business Journal reported. The bookseller confirmed upcoming locations in Spring, the Aliana community between Richmond and Sugar Land in Fort Bend County, and on Fry Road in Katy. The additions will bring its Houston-area store count to 15.
In Aliana, the company pre-leased an 18,000-square-foot building in the Market Center at 10191 Grand Parkway, according to developer Property Commerce. Construction is set to begin in weeks, with delivery expected in the spring or early summer. The retail center is nearly fully leased, anchored by H-E-B and Target, with the Barnes & Noble site designed by LA Architects and built by U.S. Builders.
Another store will open in mid-November at the Target-anchored Grand Parkway Marketplace in Spring, taking over a 12,500-square-foot space formerly occupied by Party City, at 6600 Spring Stuebner Road. Another deal was inked for a nearly 22,000-square-foot former Party City in Katy’s Greentree Shopping Center at 435 South Fry Road, which is slated to debut early next year, Ironbridge Realty confirmed.
These moves follow a January reopening of Barnes & Noble’s renovated Town & Country Village store and a July 2024 opening in the Conroe Marketplace in a space vacated by Bed Bath & Beyond.
The Houston surge is part of Barnes & Noble’s broader rebound after years of shrinking. The chain said it opened more stores last year alone than in the entire decade between 2009 and 2019, when it sold to hedge fund Elliott Management for $475 million cash.
By the end of this year, it expects to open more than 60 locations nationwide, with a similar pace planned for next year. It also recently struck a $3.25 million deal to acquire Books Inc., a longtime San Francisco Bay Area independent chain.
The company’s strategy for success is not just in its retail expansion, but also to keep local bookshops in business. James Daunt, Barnes & Noble’s CEO, said last year that over the past couple of decades the company has bought and maintained bankrupt independent regional bookstores. — Eric Weilbacher
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