Barnes & Noble Booksellers. Photo by Scott Anderson of Patch News.
BRAINTREE, MA -Braintree’s Barnes & Noble bookstore is one of two area locations that will be closing in the coming weeks, shutting down its Granite Street location on May 22 after avoiding closure for two years.
“May 22 will definitely come quickly so stock up on some new favorites while you still have the chance,” the retailer posted on its Facebook page last month. The store has been open at that location for 28 years.
But David McGrath, an associate with Stonegate Group of Natick, the company finalizing the purchase of the building at 150 Granite St., confirmed Monday that Long’s will be taking over part of the site.
“A high-end jeweler will be going in,” he said. “Long’s is moving out of the South Shore Plaza and will be coming into part of the store.”
A January Patch article reported that two businesses planned to split the 19,661-square-foot building, but the names of those businesses were not known at that time.
“We do have 9,000 square feet of retail space available,” McGrath said, noting that the company currently is seeking another tenant. He did not have an anticipated opening date for Long’s but estimated that it would be “in the coming months.”
“The landlord did make significant efforts to keep Barnes & Noble there in half the space, but Barnes & Noble was noncommittal,” he added.
The Boston Globe reported that Barnes & Noble was hoping to find another location in Braintree. It had averted closing in February 2020 after reaching a last-minute agreement with the landlord, W.P. Carey.
The company also is closing its Prudential Center location on June 19.
“We regret to inform the community & our customers that we are closing our store on June 19th,” the store announced on its Facebook page in April. “We were unable to reach an agreement with our landlord to keep this location open. We have truly enjoyed serving our customers & our community for the past 20 years!”
Patch reached out to W.P. Carey, which is headquartered in New York City, regarding future plans for the Braintree location. A spokesperson could not be reached for comment on Monday.
