When it wasn’t a Barnes & Noble, 720 W. Lancaster Ave. has housed a Walgreen’s, a Halloween store, an outdoor furniture store, and a real estate office (on the top floor), according to a neighbor. The building has been empty for years – except for the PECO trucks that once parked there – and had fallen into disrepair.
Barnes & Noble is getting a do-over. Eighteen years after it closed, the bookstore chain is reopening in the same building.
“The outpouring from customers when we closed was overwhelming,” reports Barnes & Noble’s VP of Store Planning & Design Janine Flanigan. She says the store left when its lease expired in 2007.
The reincarnated store will have the same bi-level, 19,000 sq. ft. footprint but will differ in significant ways.
First, inventory and events will be curated to appeal to local tastes, à la indie booksellers.
Its café will be “updated” and the store will have “a wonderful selection of vinyl,” and “all the best books, toys, games and gifts,” Flanigan tells SAVVY.
And finally, the interior will reflect the company’s new approach: arguably less corporate, more personal.
The Bryn Mawr store will look something like this Barnes & Noble in Dawsonville, GA. “Beautiful bookcases [will be] arranged to lead one on a journey of discovery throughout the store,” says Flanigan, the company’s VP of store planning & design.
In a time when retail is challenged and national players like CVS, Rite Aid, Big Lots and Sam Ash are contracting or folding entirely, bookstores – surprisingly – have hung tough.
Indie booksellers are reporting solid sales. Witness Main Point Books in Wayne, which recently expanded to accommodate a larger kids section and larger author events.
Why are the indies succeeding? Credit bullish social media fans, their focus on community, the enduring popularity of in-person and virtual book clubs, and Tiktok’s #booktok hashtag, among other factors.
And Barnes & Noble has cribbed from the indie playbook, bouncing back from near-collapse and a hedge fund sale that has actually benefited the brand, thanks to smart CEO James Daunt.
The chain is reportedly on track to open more than 58 new stores before the end of this year. Crews have been working on the Bryn Mawr outpost for the last few months. It’s due to debut January 29, 2025.
An important footnote: Nearby Barnes & Noble stores – on Swedesford Rd. in Devon and Broomall’s Lawrence Park – aren’t going anywhere, Flanigan assures us.
It was a Walgreen not a Rite Aid.
THANK YOU!!! The neighbor I spoke to must have been mistaken. I will edit accordingly!