Books Are Back: Barnes & Noble Coming to Riverhead

RIVERHEAD, NY — For the first time in more than a decade, a major bookseller is making plans to open in Riverhead.

According to signs on the former Pier 1 Imports store, located at 1470 Old Country Road, or Route 58, Barnes & Noble is coming, in the fall of 2022. The brightly colored signs people reading under trees and holding banners that read, "I love books!"

Riverhead Town Supervisor Yvette Aguiar was pleased with the possibility. "There is a great amount of excitement here in Riverhead on the prospect of Barnes & Noble opening on Route 58. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people turned to reading physical books. The prospect of having a Fortune 500 company here in Riverhead is huge. Undoubtedly, they conducted a costly market analysis and found a home here in Riverhead. We welcome Barnes & Noble to Riverhead."

Riverhead has been without a major chain bookstore since Borders announced it was closing in July 2011.

And for a number of years, the future for bookstores, and books in general, seemed bleak. According to a report by Publisher's Weekly, between 1991 and 2011, the nation lost more than 1,000 chain bookstore outlets. During that same time period, the post states, Barnes & Noble had only two less locations.

According to a recent report by Publisher's Weekly, Barnes & Nobles CEO James Daunt used the pandemic pause to refurbish many locations; a look at recent media releases from the bookseller shows many across the nation are re-opening, and new stores "in decent numbers" are planned for 2022, according to Publisher's Weekly.

A media representative for Barnes & Noble did not immediately return a request for comment.