The Barnes & Noble Booksellers store on Seventh Street in Bismarck will close in February before moving to a temporary home while officials plan a new store.
The store is moving because the owner of the current location is redeveloping the mall and has not renewed Barnes & Noble’s lease, according to a statement from the book company.
The store will close on February 20 and reopen in March in a temporary location inside the Kirkwood shopping center opposite the H&M clothing store. The opening date for the store in the mall has yet to be set; the store must be equipped with shelves.
The mall space will be smaller than the existing store, but Barnes & Noble will retain its staff to manage it, said Debb Hanks, executive business partner to the CEO of Barnes & Noble’s New York headquarters. The Bismarck store has 22 full-time and nine part-time employees. The bookstore will try to include existing store stock as much as possible, she said. The temporary location will not include a café, although one is planned for the permanent store.
Barnes & Noble is in negotiations for a new Bismarck site and will announce the location once the lease is signed, Hanks said. The store will be a new construction and is expected to open in early 2023.
The bookseller has been in Bismarck for 25 years, according to a Facebook post announcing the changes underway.
Barnes & Noble also has stores in Fargo and Minot.
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