Barnes & Noble To Close Upper East Side Store, Company Says

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Bookstore chain Barnes & Noble closed its Upper East Side location as the company looks for a smaller space, a company spokesperson confirmed with Patch.

The East 86th Street Barnes & Noble, located between Third and Lexington avenues, is "too large, and too expensive" for the company's needs, a spokesman said in a statement. Despite New York City reopening retail stores for curbside pickup last week, the Barnes & Noble will remain closed.

Barnes & Noble isn't pulling out of the Upper East Side entirely, as the company is searching for a new location in the neighborhood, a company spokesperson said.

"We have truly enjoyed serving our customers from this location for the past 12 years and appreciate their loyalty and support. We thank also the wonderful booksellers of the Upper East Side," a Barnes & Noble spokesperson said in a statement. "It is always sad to close a store but we expect to return to the Upper East Side with a new bookstore before too long, and we are in active pursuit of a new site."

Barnes & Noble's West 86th and Broadway, Fifth Avenue and 46th Street, Union Square and Tribeca stores are currently open for curbside pickup, a company spokesperson said. The bookstore chain was bought in 2019 by United Kingdom-based investment firm Elliot Advisors Limited for $683 million. Elliot also acquired the UK's largest bookstore chain, Waterstones, which shares a CEO with Barnes & Noble.