‘It didn’t need to be taken out in the first place’: Four years later, Barnes & Noble is back in East Atlanta
Spelman College graduates Lurelia Freeman and Sherry Young joined dozens of other customers in line to support the return of Barnes & Noble to the Edgewood Retail District in East Atlanta, where they were able to meet author Tayari Jones and purchase books. The post ‘It didn’t need to be taken out in the first place’: Four years later, Barnes & Noble is back in East Atlanta appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.
Black News 
Lurelia Freeman and Sherry Young took their places in what would be a very long line outside of the new Barnes & Noble in the Edgewood Retail District on the morning of Wednesday, July 8. The popular East Atlanta shopping center continues to be anchored by a Target and a Kroger, but at one point, there was a Barnes & Noble location that was equally as frequented by customers for years. In 2022, Barnes & Noble closed, but the national bookseller is back.
Freeman and Young are Spelman College graduates from separate generations, but both arrived at least an hour early for the 10 a.m. ribbon-cutting in order to get their copies of Tayari Jones’ books signed. Jones is also a Spelmanite, and many of her sisters were there to meet and greet their fellow alumnae. On the first day back in East Atlanta, the community came out to support a daughter of Atlanta and a beloved brand.
“I’m glad it’s back because this is the middle of the city. There aren’t enough book stores as it is,” Freeman, an Atlanta native and educator, said. “This location is easily accessible by MARTA, and this neighborhood is walkable. It didn’t need to be taken out in the first place.”
Young agrees. “I was happy it was returning because it’s needed. This is a central location.”
The new location is across the parking lot from the old store and next door to Kroger. There’s a Marshalls in that location now. The line outside the Barnes & Noble wrapped around the building, full of women and children waiting to see what all the fuss was about.
Book stores, both big-box and local, have been closing in Atlanta over the past five years. That list includes Barnes & Noble locations (The Cumberland location is scheduled to close in August) and local booksellers like Medu Bookstore, a Black-woman-owned legacy business in Greenbriar Mall. Medu closed earlier this year after 35 years in business.
The Barnes and Noble returning to East Atlanta meant something, said Safiya Reid, the founder of “Oh Word”, a neuroscience-backed word game. Asked if she was happy to see a Barnes & Noble store opening instead of closing, Reid said, “Absolutely. I remember when they took it away. I love the Atlanta book scene, but it’s good to have this back.”
The store has sections on history, fantasy, business, travel, religion, a newsstand, and of course, a Starbucks. The Starbucks wasn’t open on Wednesday, but that didn’t keep dozens of people from streaming into the store to buy books and magazines.
The post ‘It didn’t need to be taken out in the first place’: Four years later, Barnes & Noble is back in East Atlanta appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.
