Big Box Bookstores Taking the Stairs

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[Photo via Flickr/daniel light]

Remember not so long ago when Barnes & Noble Astor Place closed and the Chelsea location quickly followed? Well, now both of its two Upper East Side locations will be closing as well, but only to make room for a completely new one at East 86th Street and Lexington Avenue. Although it seems like the bookstores of Manhattan are disappearing, the truth is that they are just going into hiding. As rents rise and sales stagnate, book retailers are moving from the main floor and taking it to another level. The newly opened Tribeca Barnes & Noble went upstairs; the soon-to-open Union Square Idlewild books will go upstairs; and next year's Upper West Side Barnes & Noble will head downstairs. It looks as though there is an end to the trend however, as Borders just signed into a huge main space at the under-construction 795 Columbus Avenue.
· Bookstores Move to the Basement [TRD]
· Storecasting: Barton Ready to Buff Up Astor Place [Racked]
· Discontinued: Last Hurrah at Chelsea B&N [Racked]
· Now Open: Tribeca's Bed Bath & Beyond and Barnes & Noble [Racked]