The Brunswick Barnes & Noble at Merrymeeting Plaza in Cook’s Corner. Jason Claffey / The Times Record
Brunswick will again have a national bookseller Wednesday when Barnes & Noble opens its doors in Merrymeeting Plaza.
The store is the company’s second Maine location, in addition to the one in Augusta. Its opening comes about 10 years after Borders, also located in Merrymeeting Plaza, closed its doors.
Barnes & Noble, which closed dozens of stores in recent years amid rising competition from Amazon, has experienced a resurgence recently after it was purchased in 2019 by the New York-based hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. The company opened 16 new stores in the United States in 2022 and planned to open 30 more this year.
“To be opening new bookstores at such a pace would have been unthinkable just a few years ago,” CEO James Daunt said in a statement. “Very few things are as exciting as opening a new bookstore in an area that has been begging for one. This year we have had much to celebrate and bringing this stunning new Barnes & Noble to the Brunswick community is high on the list.”
The Brunswick store will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. Maine author Lisa Steele will attend and sign copies of her book “The Fresh Eggs Daily Cookbook.”
“Opening a new Barnes & Noble has long been a dream of mine,” store manager Andrew Crouse, a Barnes & Noble bookseller with 13 years’ experience, said in a statement. “Brunswick has never had a bookstore of this size and scope, and the booksellers here can’t wait to welcome the community into our beautiful new shop.”
In addition to books, the store will sell educational toys and games. There will not be a café like those featured at other Barnes & Noble locations.
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