Barnes & Noble near Dayton Mall to permanently close

Bookstore chain says it is looking for a new site for the store.
A young girl reads a book from the shelves of Barnes & Noble.

Credit: Lisa Powell

Credit: Lisa Powell

A young girl reads a book from the shelves of Barnes & Noble.

After 25 years in business, the Barnes & Noble bookstore across Ohio 725 from the Dayton Mall will close permanently in one month.

“We regret sincerely to announce that we are closing this Barnes & Noble bookstore on Feb. 13, 2022,” the bookstore posted to its Facebook page on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, the landlord is redeveloping this site and has opted not to renew our lease.”

County property records show the building is owned by a Florida company named Commercial Net Lease Realty. That company could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The Oberer development company recently had a “for lease” sign in front of the Mad River Station shopping center where Barnes & Noble is an outlot. But Chris Conley, president/partner of Oberer Realty Services, Ltd. said Wednesday that the Barnes & Noble parcel is not with the same ownership group, and Oberer is not the landlord.

Barnes & Noble has been open at the intersection of Ohio 725 and Mad River Road since 1997.

“We have truly enjoyed serving our customers in Dayton Mall for the past 25 years and would have loved to have continued for many more,” the Barnes & Noble statement continued.

At the time of the closure announcement, the bookstore also posted a sign informing customers of a “Last Chance” sale, including 25% off everything in the store.

The Barnes & Noble store at The Shoppes at Beavercreek remains open at 2720 Towne Drive.

Barnes & Noble officials said they are “in active discussions” with other landlords to replace the store that is closing. They even asked for public input, suggesting that customers email possible new locations to mybarnesandnoble@bn.com with ‘Dayton Mall’ in the subject line.

“We thank our wonderful Dayton Mall booksellers for all their hard work and know that they look forward to welcoming you back to their new store, once this has been found,” according to the statement. “In the meantime, our booksellers have been offered positions in our other local stores.”

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