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| B&N in Lexington, Ky. | |
Barnes & Noble will open stores in Lexington, Ky., and Costa Mesa, Calif., today.
The Lexington store, at 3565 Nicholasville Rd. in the Fayette Mall, replaces a smaller B&N that opened in the same mall in August 2024. At around 13,000 square feet, the store's new location is about 50% larger than its previous one. It will not include a B&N Cafe. The store will officially open with a ribbon cutting and signing featuring Sav R. Miller, author of Liars and Liaisons (Sourcebooks Casablanca). The Cat in the Hat costume character will join the opening festivities and appear for storytime events over the weekend.
The Costa Mesa store, meanwhile, occupies a 27,000-square-foot space in the South Coast Plaza mall, at 3333 Bear St., Suite 340. The company described it as a "major flagship store" that will include a B&N Cafe. The same space once housed a Borders store, and it is across the street from Metro Pointe Costa Mesa, where B&N operated a store until its closure more than 10 years ago. Tahereh Mafi, author of Release Me (Storytide), will be on hand today for the ribbon cutting and signing.
The Lexington, Ky., store is the first of two B&Ns to open in the state this year; the other will open in Louisville in the coming months. The company plans to open 60 stores nationwide before the end of 2026.