Books Are Back: New Barnes & Noble Set To Open In Riverhead Next Week

RIVERHEAD, NY — Books are back in Riverhead: Barnes & Noble will host a ribbon-cutting and book signing for best-selling author Nelson DeMille at the grand opening of the bookseller's latest location in Riverhead.

The store will be the first new Barnes & Noble to open on Long Island in 14 years, and the first of two locations the bookseller plans to bring to Long Island soon.

The Riverhead Barnes & Noble is set to open on Wednesday, November 2 at 10 a.m.

The new Barnes & Noble is located at 1470 Old Country Road, in front of The Home Depot and Shop Rite, near DSW in the storefront recently vacated by Pier 1 Imports.

Local legend and New York Times bestselling author Nelson DeMille will be cutting the ribbon on opening day and signing copies of his new release, The Maze, book #8 in the John Corey series, following the now-retired NYPD homicide detective John Corey, Barnes & Noble said.

The new location joins the other Long Island-area Barnes & Noble bookstores at the Smith Haven Mall, East Northport, Bay Shore, Massapequa, Carle Place, Lake Success and Manhasset.

“It has been a long time since Riverhead has enjoyed having its own bookstore and we are delighted to be opening one again,” said James Daunt, CEO of Barnes & Noble. “The wonderful bookselling team of Riverhead, led by store manager Sarah deQuillfeldt, has been hard at work getting their new store ready for the holiday season. Building a roster of book signings, author events and story times catered to the community has been a top priority for this experienced team of booksellers.”

The new Riverhead bookstore is the 12th Barnes & Noble to be opened so far this year, and the bookseller has announced plans to open at least 30 more in the near future. This compares to just 15 new stores in total opened in the nine years from 2010 to 2019, a release said.

“When Borders closed their doors in Riverhead in 2011, they left a void that was felt by many local readers. Customers have been vocal about their desire for a Barnes & Noble to open in Riverhead and I am just so happy to be able to give our neighbors what they have been asking for,” said deQuillfeldt. “Our team is all local to Long Island and we have been eagerly stocking our bookshelves with the books we know our community will love. I cannot wait to open our doors and welcome everyone in.”

Riverhead Town Supervisor Yvette Aguiar was pleased by the news. "There is a great amount of excitement here in Riverhead at 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."

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.