Dubuque’s New Barnes & Noble Has an Official Opening Date

Earlier this year, Dubuquers learned that a new major bookstore would be coming to the area. It would be another one of many stores inside the bustling Asbury Plaza on the city's north end. Now, an opening date for the new establishment has officially been revealed!

The store is Barnes & Noble, which is located inside the former Pier 1 Imports location in Asbury Plaza. The storefront was most recently used as Spirit Halloween during the late summer/early fall season. Anyone who has driven through the strip-mall has likely noticed the front has been decorated with Barnes & Noble branding in lieu of its opening.

The building is a 9,000-square-foot space, significantly smaller than the average 25,000-square-foot size of your average Barnes & Noble store. It seems the store's new strategy will be opening stores that are a quarter of the size of their typical ones. Some Barnes & Noble stores even feature two-stories, but that seems no longer to be the case with new stores.

The move makes sense, however. With many people opting to purchase books online, Barnes & Noble's focus on smaller storefronts may be their ideal path to survival.

Opening Date is Set:

Per Telegraph Herald, the new Barnes & Noble in Dubuque will open on Wednesday, May 1st, 2024 at 10am. Official store hours haven't been revealed yet, but next Wednesday, the bookstore will officially be open to the general public.

Even as the brick and mortar bookstore industry faces challenge, Barnes & Noble remains the world's largest retail bookseller, but they also sell DVDs, Blu-Rays, educational items, newspaper, magazines, toys, and more.

Barnes & Noble is also one of the few retailers that carries The Criterion Collection brand of DVD/Blu-Rays. Criterion has been restoring and preserving both classic and contemporary films for home media release. Their DVD/Blu-Ray sets are defined by their many bonus features and often feature exclusive books that tell of a specific film's production among other details. I can't recommend them enough.

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Read more about Barnes & Noble opening in Dubuque here.