Just over two decades ago, Barnes & Noble opened up a location at the well known Bay Area mall—Tanforan. With heavy hearts, the chain book store announced its closure of the San Bruno location with its last day in business on May 2.
This foreseen closure was bound to happen after news of the mall being turned into housing and offices was decided in 2022. Alexandria Real Estate bought the 44-acre property for $328 million and will begin transformation of the area in the near future.
Many people have expressed their feelings about the closure. Rachel Gerke ’27 said, “It’s sad to see, because that location is really nostalgic for me, but in this business climate, closures have become really common.”
From the years 2010 to 2019, the chain bookstore experienced closures of hundreds of locations. However, under new ownership of Elliot Investment Management, the company has expanded greatly and plans to expand even more in coming months with around 60 new locations opening across the United States. This expansion hopes to mark a comeback after years of a slow decline for the company.
Before 2019, Barnes & Noble was owned by Leonardo Riggio. The bookseller acquired the trade name and merged it with his own successful bookselling business in 1971, according to Barnes & Noble Inc. Through the decades of the 1970s and 80s, Riggio greatly expanded the company, opening up new locations; it eventually became the largest chain bookstore in all of the United States and still is to
this day.
Barnes & Noble can date back to 1873 when Charles M. Barnes started a small book selling business from inside his own home in Wheaton, Illinois.
Despite the history of the company going back over a century and half ago, it has faced many changes and even developed to fit the modern world. As the rise of mobile devices really started flourishing, Barnes & Noble entered the eBook market and had other ways to digitally read products.
Even though these modernized developments have helped benefit the company and the plan for expansion is underway, many Bay Area residents are met with sorrow as they no longer will have
a local Barnes & Noble to visit.
For many, the bookstore wasn’t just a place to buy books, but also acted as a place where they can go to relax, study, or get coffee. The notable tree-themed kids reading area with wooden benches was
also a staple in many children’s childhoods.
Josephine Andre ’27 reminisced, “I loved going there when I was a kid. I would always find good books to read and have many fond memories there.” She continued, “It’s sad to see it’s closing.”
While the community is spending these last few weeks visiting the beloved Tanforan Barnes & Noble, the cherished memories of flipping through books, attending story-times, and browsing through hundreds of genres will forever live in the hearts of many.
