Bookstores

Minneapolis science fiction bookstore Uncle Hugo’s has finally reopened in a new location after being burned in 2020 in the unrest that followed George Floyd’s murder. Owner Don Blyly said he lost 200,000 books in the fire, worth more than $1 million and that insurance money and selling books online helped him reopen. The new location is across the street from Moon Palace Books. A new horror bookstore, Butcher Cabin Books, owned by author J. L. Kiefer, will open in Louisville, KY this fall.

Bunch of Grapes Bookstore in Vineyard Haven, Martha’s Vineyard has been sold to new owners. Dawn Braasch, who has owned the store since 2008, has sold it to married couple Molly Coogan and Brendan Coogan. The Vineyard Gazette writes that Braasch is “retiring to spend more time with her seven grandchildren,” but “will continue to advise Ms. Coogan in a transitional role until she is up to speed on the business side.” Molly Coogan says she does not foresee any major changes to the store except “to expand the store’s gift selection to include more stickers and pins, items that […]

Barnes & Noble will reopen a location in Walnut Creek, CA on September 7. The store, which is located in Plaza Escuela, is in the shopping center adjacent to where a BN outlet closed in 2016 after 21 years in business. Thereafter, an Amazon Books opened a location in the same area in 2017, now closed following the company’s decision to exit multiple physical store businesses earlier this year. Store manager Allison Osborn said, “We’re incredibly excited to connect with readers in Walnut Creek and introduce them to this great bookstore we have created. It is to be so well […]

Barnes & Noble announced it will open two new replacement stores on August 31. The first, in Tanasbourne Town Center in Hillsboro, OR outside of Portland, replaces a nearby location that closed last year. The second, in Stony Creek Market Place in Noblesville, IN, is “literally next door” to a store that closed in January.

Rockefeller Center developer Tishman Speyer announced that McNally Jackson will open a 7,000-square-foot bookstore at 1 Rockefeller Plaza, expect to open in winter 2022.