Barnes & Noble to return to downtown Seattle with new store

Nearly six years after departing downtown Seattle, Barnes & Noble is making its return.

The New York-based bookstore chain has filed plans to open a store at 520 Pike St. in a space that formerly housed a North Face store. Tenant-improvement filings over the past month show Barnes & Noble will fill a nearly 14,000-square-foot space over two floors.

Barnes & Noble could not immediately be reached for comment. The Seattle Times was the first to report on the company's plans.

Barnes & Noble shuttered its previous downtown store, at Pacific Place mall, in January 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic. It was the start of a small exodus of national retailers from downtown Seattle that included brands such as Macy's, J. Crew, Forever 21 and The Gap. More recent closures include Nike, Lululemon and Saks 5th Avenue, which operated a Saks Off 5th store in Westlake Center that closed in July 2024.

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2025/11/05/barnes-noble-downtown-central-business-district.html