For the first time since 2018, the country’s largest chain bookstore will be opening its doors on the 3rd Street Promenade tomorrow morning. Barnes and Noble ended a 22 year run on the Promenade after the owner doubled the rent.
The opening will feature a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. and a book signing by author Olivie Blake, best known for The Atlas Six, a New York Times best seller. She is on a book tour for her most recent book, set in the “Atlas Universe,” The Atlas Complex.
The status of the Promenade has become a political hot potato in recent years as a drop in local tourism, the COVID-19 pandemic and a rise in online shopping have created many challenges for the outdoor mall. Some have pegged a rise in crime and people experiencing homelessness as causes for the decline and the media campaign proclaiming the Promenade’s decline by the Santa Monica Coalition hasn’t helped.
In just the past week there have been several openings on the Promenade, so Barnes and Noble isn’t alone. Odd 1 Out Boba Tea Shop, Minimoso, and even Kamala Harris’ campaign have opened shop on the Promenade in the last couple of days. The vacancy rate on the Promenade has been said to be between 25% (in a survey published in May) to 40% (estimated in a recent YouTube video where the host walked the street).
Barnes and Noble reversed what was thought of as inevitable decline in recent years and opened more new stores in 2023 than it did in the entire decade from 2009 to 2019. They are in the midst of opening 50 new stores across the country this calendar year.
