National bookseller to open new Las Vegas store

A new Barnes & Noble will open in Town Square, the first storefront the bookseller has opened in the Las Vegas Valley in over a decade.

“It has been 16 years since we have opened a new Barnes & Noble in Las Vegas,” said James Daunt, CEO of Barnes & Noble, in a statement. “Now this grand opening marks one of ten Barnes & Noble bookstores to open their doors in September alone.”

The grand opening for the store, located at 6671 Las Vegas Blvd. South, will take place Wednesday at 10 a.m. with children’s book author Katherine Applegate doing a ribbon cutting and signing copies of her book “Willodeen.” The bookstore takes over the former Banana Republic at the outdoor shopping mall.

The new location will feature the “highly lauded,” redesigned interior of other previously opened Barnes & Nobles across the country.

Alongside the Las Vegas location, new storefronts have opened nationally in Delaware, Texas, Florida, New York, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

In 2019, after 15 years of declining store numbers, Barnes & Noble was acquired by hedge fund Elliott Management for $683 million and taken private. The company changed the business model, giving more power to local managers to select books for their stores.

According to a news release, the booksellers have seen a “period of tremendous growth” since handing control to local booksellers. Now, the once shrinking book giants expect to open 50 new stores in 2024 since its acquisition.