Barnes & Noble Sets Reopening Date For Morris County Store

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — After closing down its Roxbury store more than three years ago, Barnes & Noble is gearing up to start its next chapter in the township.

According to officials, construction is nearly complete at the new 13,500-square-foot location for the popular bookseller at what is now known as the Shops at Ledgewood Commons.

The new store will be located at 461 State Route 10, Building B300, situated between the DSW and Ulta Beauty. According to a Barnes & Noble representative, the business plans to open the store on Jan. 17.

Residents expressed their enthusiasm for the new venture on social media. "This makes me so happy! People have been messaging me about this news for a few weeks. The community is so excited for your return," one resident wrote on Facebook.

Back in 2020, the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Ledgewood shuttered its doors to make way for the brand-new shopping center. At the time, the bookstore decided not to sign on to reopen its site when the Shops at Ledgewood Commons project was finished, instead announcing on social media that they were going to be closing down for good.

However, that decision was rethought, and the company announced that they would be returning to Ledgewood earlier this year.

In a space formerly occupied by Sports Authority, the new Barnes & Noble store will share a restored building with a DSW shoe store and an Ulta Beauty shop. The bookshop will not have a café on the premises, although there is a Starbucks nearby, the company wrote on its Facebook page.

The new location will also not have a music section, similar to the Morris Plains location, the company said.

"We are excited to be returning to this market. It is an area that has always done well for us, and we are thrilled to be able to come back into the community with our beautiful, newly designed bookstore. The store will feature a new release shop, book rooms, bright cheerful paint colors and we will have seating to encourage customers to sit and enjoy their new store. The store is a little larger than the old location, and will carry all the best books, toys, games and gifts that our customers would expect to see," a company spokesperson told Patch.

Barnes & Noble previously stated that they were anticipating rapid expansion in the coming years. After more than 15 years of dwindling store numbers, the company is now on the verge of a growth surge, with plans to open 30 new sites in 2023 and over 50 by 2024.