The two-level store will span more than 17,000 square feet at 520 Pike Street, according to a company spokesperson.
SEATTLE — A new Barnes & Noble store is set to open Wednesday, May 6, marking the bookseller’s return to downtown Seattle after several years away.
The two-level store will span more than 17,000 square feet at 520 Pike Street, according to a company spokesperson. A ribbon-cutting event is planned for April 29, featuring a signing with bestselling author Robin Hobb.
Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) President Jon Scholes framed the opening as a broader signal for the city’s retail core.
“It’s great to have a national retailer return to downtown Seattle,” Scholes said. “A strong signal to others who may have left the market over the last six years and to those that have yet to plant a flag here.”
Scholes pointed to what he described as improving fundamentals downtown, including a record residential population, visitor numbers exceeding 2019 levels and a growing return of local foot traffic.
The space was previously home to The North Face, which closed its doors in May 2024, joining a string of high-profile departures that included Macy’s flagship in 2019 and Nike in 2023, according to the DSA.
Previously, downtown Seattle lost Barnes & Noble in January 2020 when a Pacific Place location closed. Another store in West Seattle shuttered in 2025.
The new Pike Street location will join two existing Seattle locations: one at Northgate Station and another at University Book Store in the University District, which took over general books sales from the University Book Store last summer.
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