Is Barnes and Noble Coming Back? [Opening date announced]
 |
| Barnes & Noble's sign as seen at their old location when the store was still open - Optopolis |
A huge question on the minds of Cheyenne residents who frequented Barnes and Noble is, "When/is Barnes & Noble going to reopen?" It appears the Cheyenne location may finally actually be making some tangible headway!
Recent events with Barnes & Noble (and Natural Grocers)
If you haven't been keeping up on the topic or you could use a refresh, let's catch you up/refresh you. Last year (in 2022) on Wednesday, March 30th, Barnes & Noble Cheyenne (which dates back to 1995) announced that they were going to relocate. They officially began their moving/closing sale on March 31st, planning to close on May 15th. The final day was indeed May 15th, 2022.
It was revealed that the owner of the property of the old Barnes & Noble location did not want to renew the lease with Barnes & Noble in favor of a larger Natural Grocers store; Cheyenne's then-current Natural Grocers was located on Frontier Mall Dr in a rather small space at just under 10.2K sq ft, and it was desired to either build a larger store or move to somewhere that would provide more space.
Simultaneously, Barnes & Noble began looking at other possibilities for locations, even asking the public for ideas of where to relocate. Many suggested spaces such as Cheyenne's previous Big Lots location, next door to Hobby Lobby in the former Kmart, or even in the original Cheyenne Natural Grocers space.
 |
| The two spaces at the mall where B&N planned to temporarily open - Optopolis |
At the time, they'd ultimately chosen to try for a portion of the Frontier Mall next to JAX as a temporary location, even submitting the necessary information to the Cheyenne City Planning and Development website. For the time being until a new location could open, the staff members were shifted to work at other stores including Fort Collins and Loveland.
Fast forward to September, Natural Grocer's had completed the renovation of the former Barnes & Noble, taking about two-thirds of the space (the other third left vacant for either a potential new tenant or future expansion). They opened on September 23d, having a grand opening that day. By this time, the "coming soon" signage in the mall for Barnes & Noble had been taken down.
Moving on to October 2022, Barnes & Noble had officially mentioned that they ditched the plans to do the temporary mall location, asking the public where to permanently reopen. By this time, some locations previously encouraged were off the books (for example, the left half of the old Kmart already had plans in the works for a new Burlington Coat Factory and another TBD tenant).
Info that was not previously shared here on the Optopolis BlogSpot page
By November 2022, it was discovered here at Optopolis that all the shelving inside the old Natural Grocers space was removed along with the bicycle lockup facility and outdoor tables. At the time, it wasn't clear exactly why this happened. The word on the street, however, was suggestive of a somewhat unexpected reality that would later be confirmed.
In January 2023, Cowboy State Daily published an article (written by Renée Jean) that shared new information, confirming what previously was somewhat of an inside joke to many Cheyenne residents. With a bit of a lack of options at the time, Barnes & Noble was indeed looking to open at the old Natural Grocers space.
Unfortunately for months following the article from Cowboy State Daily, very little was happening, at least in terms of the public eye. Minimal online posts about the new location... the best many saw was calling or visiting the nearby Barnes & Noble stores only to hear something along the lines of a postponed opening date, etc.
 |
| Barnes & Noble Fort Collins on a rainy day earlier in 2023 - Optopolis |
New activity finally begins
As of the time of writing, if you visit the planned-to-be Barnes & Noble space, nothing of significance has changed since the old shelving units were removed last year. However, if you have checked out the city planning website at any point since late April 2023, there's a chance you may have stumbled across permits for the new Barnes & Noble location.
All these permit items being submitted on April 18th, 2023, there are permits classed as Stores/Retail Remodel/Addition, Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC. The Stores/Retail Remodel/Addition permit is listed as Approved, while the other three are In Progress as of the time of writing.
 |
| The old Natural Grocers space as it stands on June 15th, 2023 - Optopolis |
Studying the site plans, one can see that some tweaks are set to be made to the space. First and most obviously, Barnes & Noble plans to add their sign to the facade in about the same spot where Natural Grocers was once displayed. The entryway is planned to be changed slightly too, with pull open doors being placed just beyond the existing exterior sliding doors. At this time, there do not appear to be any plans for a cafe at the location.
Calling the Fort Collins Barnes and Noble, an employee shared that the Cheyenne store is currently planned to open in October and that they are waiting for the city to finish finalizing all the paperwork which likely explains why three of the items are still "In Progress."
Construction begins (Update 07/13)
As of the day before the first official day open of the nearby Freddy's, work has began taking place inside of the soon-to-be B&N space. The interior door and walling had already been taken down, and a large dumpster was sitting outside of the former Natural Grocers!
 |
| The soon-to-be Barnes & Noble space on July 11th. Doors in the front and back of the space were open while people worked inside. - Optopolis |
As of time of writing this paragraph (07/13), the Stores/Retail Remodel/Addition permit found in the Cheyenne planning website has been approved. Although three other permits are still displayed as "In Progress," that hasn't stopped remodel of the space from progressing.
A new post from a local seen in the Cheyenne Connections Community Facebook group displays new, tangible B&N banners posted in the windows of the soon-to-be B&N.
 |
| Soon-to-be Barnes & Noble with it's coming soon banners posted. Note that they plan on opening this fall, keep reading for more info. - Optopolis |
Opening date announced (Update 08/18)
Barnes and Noble Cheyenne has just officially announced some new information regarding the new store.
As stated in BNCheyenne's recent Instagram post, they plan to reopen on October 24th, 2023; that lands on a Thursday. They also mention that they are currently hiring for part-time booksellers! (You can also now find the post on Facebook).
Considering the smaller size of the space at just under 10.2k sq ft, do you think that in the future, they could squeeze in a small cafe? This time around, do you think things will work out in a way such that the opening date will not have to be postponed again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Originally published: 06/15/2023 at 3:24 PM MT
Updated: 07/13/2023 at 1:11 PM MT to include new info about the construction process beginning to take place.
Updated: 08/18/2023 at 1:15 PM MT to include new info about when the store will open. Also included a more recent photo of the store front, taken after the banners were posted in the windows.
Updated: 08/18/2023 at 8:38 PM MT to add a link to the Facebook version of the post.
Comments