First the BORDERS closed in Countryside/Sterling ... and now this :( Just sad. Very sad news indeed.

Nooooo!!! :(

No! We need to have a local bookstore! PLEASE find a new local shop, B&N!

When the last bookstore in America closes, someone please turn out the lights. Shopping online is not nearly as enjoyable as going to a bookstore. With all due respect to the Container Store, I have enough containers.

I bet you that B&N could get a great lease deal in the empty grocery space at Tall Oaks!

That's stinks. B & N is one of my favourite places to go have a coffee and check out the latest books. The vibe here in Reston is changing. Very disappointed.

If anybody from Barnes & Nobles happens to see this comment: I bought books at the physical store, despite them being more expensive than ordering on Amazon, because there actually is a physical store. No store near my house means no business from me.

I hope somebody in Reston feels inspired to open a book store to fill this gap. It would be really nice with something like Kramerbooks out here instead. A smaller bookstore with actual books as opposed to chocolate, greeting cards, childrens toys and laptop desks, but maybe with a bar, would be pretty awesome.

This closing is sad, but ironic.

Two decades ago, there was a wonderful independent, locally-owned book store at North Point (whose name I've forgotten, sorry) that was driven out of business because of competition from the newly opened B&N.

And now the circle of time rolls over B&N. . . and we're all looking for a local book store to open!

I need to find my "way back" machine.

My entire family loves that Barnes and Noble and we are so disappointed about this news! We go there at least once or twice a week to have coffee and shop. Words can't even express how disappointed we are!

Books A Million might come back. Just in a smaller store. The last location was way too large and had slow business. They need a better and smaller location. btws, noticed how the first floor at B&N at Tysons corner hardly has any books anymore.
Don't forget the long time used bookstore at Lake Anne Plaza.

On the upside, at least the store isn't going to be replaced by the world's largest frozen yogurt location.

Nooo!! That will be a HUGE loss!!!! Property owners: We would RATHER have B&N!!!!

I'd sure like to know why Lerner wouldn't extend the lease. Odd, B&N comment: “We tried extremely hard to come to an agreement with the property owner to extend the lease at our Reston location, but despite our offering significant additional rent, the property owner was unwilling to agree to an extension," he said in an email."

What did Lerner demand that B&N couldn't meet?

There are so many reasons beyond the mere dollars and cents why this is borderline tragedy. What's next? On-line libraries only, so we can bulldozer our library and erect Paramount II? The old song is beginning to have modern-day relevance,"...they paved paradise, and put up a parking lot."

It's not that I am asking to be chased with pitchforks and torches here, but I like Container Stores and hate driving to Tyson's to go to one. I also do most of my reading on a Kindle. And now I shall commence running from the Restonians...

As a reader, and as a local writer, I am very disappointed. I had my first two book launches at the Reston B&N and the staff was so very supportive! I hope they all land on their feet somewhere else!

Somehow these owners/developers believe that we are going to become a boom town with the coming of the Silver Line and they all are jumping in to be positioned when it happens....if it happens. The strange thing is that we have over 5 million sf of vacant office space along the Dulles corridor from Tysons to Rt 28 but the builders apparently believe that we need another 28 million sf of space.
They may indeed be facing the cliff in a few months.
I occasionally go in Staples to buy a pack of paper and there is never more than 3-4 customers in the giant store.
As to B&N Lerner plans to tear that down and build high rises there so loong term leases may be out of the question.
Tall Oaks sounds like an interesting idea...but I cannot bike there easily.

If the current Lerner plans are to tear down all of the buildings except Harris Teeter/Office Depot, why would the Container Store renovate and move into a location that will be torn down in a short time? Am I missing something here?

This is just terrible. As the years go by, there is simply less and less reason to live in Reston.

Times are a changing. This is just a reflection of how people purchase their books. If people really purchased books rather than downloads, we would have more bookstores. Remember music stores? Best Buy is next.

Oh No, I am so sorry and saddened to hear this news! We lost the small Brentano's bookstore at the Town Center; the large, corner Indie bookstore at North Point; and now B&N! Reston is a wonderful community of readers. How can this be? LK

It's a bit of a drive (15 minutes down 66) but a wonderful independent bookstore, One More Page, is located on the Arlington/Falls Church line. The staff is wonderful and in addition to books, they also sell wine & chocolate. This store became my "home" after Borders closed in Sterling. It's a 45 minute drive for me but well worth it.

Arrived back from a business trip last night to see the article on the Reston Patch detailing the upcoming closing of the Reston Barnes & Noble. I would like to share with you my extreme disappointment in Lerner. It is ridiculous to drive rent so high that a long time Reston fixture must close its doors. Based on the article, it appears that B&N was willing to negotiate and increase what they pay in rent; it appears that Lerner is simply going for the bump in rent that The Container Store is willing to pay.

Lerner, here is where you made your mistake; the people of Reston do not want a Container Store. Save that for your strip centers. Restonians have been huge supporters of the B&N for many years and will not stand for the corporate greed that Lerner is displaying. The Container Store will not attract the repeat business that you see with the bookstore, and I can tell you personally that my family and others will boycott businesses housed in Lerner properties.

This is the time to raise Hell. Call Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, who never met a developer she didn't like. Tell her she's destroying Reston.

Cathy Hudgins 703-478-0283

The other nine supervisors who vote on this are:

Shavon Bulova 703-324-2321
John Cook 703-425-9300
John Faust 703-356-0551
Jeffrey McKay 703-971-6262
Penelope Gross 703-256-7717
Gerald Hyland 703-780-7518
Linda Smyth 703-560-6946
Pat Herrity 703-451-8873
Michael Frey 703-814-7100

Should saving B&N be added to Rescue Reston's to-do list?

This is so sad. Barnes and Noble is a wonderful place and one I frequent, particularly during the holidays. I agree with others that Restonians would much prefer a charming bookstore to an impersonal store such as the Container Store. I am disappointed in the supervisors and Lerner for such a cold decision clearly based solely on money rather than neighborhood value and community input.

To quote Henry David Thoreau, "I cannot believe that our factory system is the best mode by which men may get clothing...and it cannot be wondered at, since, as far as I have heard or observed, the principal object is, not that mankind may be well and honestly clad, but, unquestionably, that the corporations may be enriched."

Why do people feel that supervisors have anything to do with Lerner leases? They approve redevelopment but not the tenants in the leased spaces.

That said, IF you are upset with the 23 story building just pushed through by Supervisor Hudgins, the imminent gridlock on Reston streets due to the increase in tolls on the DTR and the threat to Reston National Golf Course, step up and join Rescue Reston and Reston Citizens Association's Reston 2020.

Like minded Reston activists would appreciate your ideas, your energy and your support. Together we can influence future development. We have learned the hard way that apathy and inattention leads to development disaster and the loss of what we love about Reston.

Boo to Lerner! I too can not imagine Reston without a large book store! Love Container Store but not at the expense of B & N!!!

I remember when the Reston Town Center opened there was a Brentano's bookstore there for several years. It has been replaced by the eyeglass place

Sign it and pass it along.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-the-reston-barnes-nobles/

Well, the reality is that the eyeglass store at RTC is ridiculously overpriced. I can't afford to shop there even with my insurance, which is why I go to the Hour Eyes at South Lakes or buy glasses online. But back to bookstores, nothing beats shopping in a brick and mortar store, even for those of us who embrace all reading technologies -- online and paper alike. I am not the biggest fan of B&N or really any large corporate bookstore, but it's all we have for a large selection at this point in time.

I love RUBS as much as the next Restonian, but B&N is a destination for my family almost every weekend. We do spend money there (we spend money at RUBS too) and our daughter plays at the train table and we browse the magazines and toys. Often B&N simply offers us an opportunity to do something you can't do online -- read the backs of books and be introduced to something you wouldn't buy otherwise.

We are voracious readers in our household, but if there are fewer bookstores, where will people who don't buy if they can't browse go?

The Reston Chamber of Commerce should be enlisted in recruiting an Independent Bookstore or a chain bookstore to come to Reston. Large corporate landlords can't be depended on to consider the actual needs of the community.

Reston is on its way to become next Crystal City.
Heartless, souless brick and concrete jungle with drunk wondering around from bar to bar.

way to go.

Don't forget, there is a Barnes & Noble not too far away near Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax. But, yes, I miss all the cool bookstores we used to have, like all the area Borders, Crown Books, even the book department at Tower Records. Anybody remember the Little Professor bookshop that was at North Point when it first opened? Nice store with a coffee bar and fireplace!

Maybe we could have an independent toy store AND an independent book store here in Reston. If the odds of such a business succeeding weren't so abysmal, I'd write a business plan and look for funding.

There was a book store in South Lakes Shopping center too back in the 80s. B&N put the small stores out of business. I was sad when that happened too. And South Lakes had a toy store. Matter of fact there were some excellent small businesses there. Harvest, a women's clothing store. Kids clothes store. I miss them all. But because I can't walk much anymore online shopping is a life saver. It's a strange new world.

Just want to point out that at Lake Anne Plaza is Reston's Used Book Shop- very cool, independently owned and operated for 35 years.

I didn't think the B & N store was all that. Parking was/is a nightmare in that lot anyway. Fellow Restonites - have you been down to Merrifield/Dunn Loring lately? OMG!!! That is what is coming down the tracks and there is nothing we can do but get run over or step aside. I know it - you know it. Now on the bright side - the housing in Reston will become much more desireable and you know what that means. Cha ching - that's right. Boofie and Aquina are salivating for sure. I wish the County would put up stands along Whiele though - it's a racetrack now and when the new station opens it's going to be crazy. They need to put some traffic circles in to slow the cars down - just sayin

Barnes & Noble and Crown Books (later Books-a-Million) put the independent "Little Professor Bookstore" out of business--too much competition for a small family-owned
book shop. The "mighty ozymandias of the almighty dollar speaks, sells to the highest bidder, then moves on."

My five year old son is going to be crushed. One of his favorite things to do is to go to B&N and pick out some new books to take home. He also loved making new friends there while playing with the trains.

High density development is complements of progressives implementing U.N.Agenda 21; govt controlling EVERY aspect of peoples lives (where to live/how to live/what to eat/family size/mass transportation/etc. disguised using friendly sounding terminology like "sustainability"... leading sheep to slaughter. I'net search article by Joyce Morrison, "Why Americans Are Ignorant of U.N. Agenda 21". Also, by John Fonte, "The Ideological War Within the West."

I am amazed at how uniformed /ignorant people are of basic business principles. (Example: Put a B&N in Tall Oaks? Utterly ridiculous on its face, for a host of reasons.)
Barnes & Noble is downsizing, having closed numerous stores in recent years. Online bookstores have won most of the market. The Reston store seems to sell as many toys and gimmicks as it does books these days, as its selection has been drastically scaled back. Bricks and mortar stores with their high overhead cannot compete. Perhaps B&N will eventually find a new Reston-area location, but I a not holding my breath for quick action. I happen to miss Borders much more than any old B&N but competition and mismangment did them in.

I love the feel of a book in my hand. I always have. My house is so full of books that I am giving them away. I had distain for e-books and said I would never have one. My son-in -law and my Dau gave me a Kindle. It sat unused for a week or so then out of curiosity I started examining that Kindle. Slowly it has won me over. I can put a couple hundred ( a thousand?) books in my pocket and walk to Starbucks. I may never buy another hardbound book. As is said in the play "OtherPeoples Money", the last buggy whip company made probably the best buggy whip in the world and it was a shame they went out of business. Times they are a changing, as Dylan said. If you don't want to get run over, get out of the way.

Another sign that Armageddon is upon us: Increasing belief that we are heading in the direction where a book is the new buggy-whip. If this is progress, heaven help us.

Just wanted to add to the comments above that Gold's Gym has been a rumor for over a year. No proof that it is true - trust me, I have been checking.

Something that confuses me. If B & N was trying to renew their lease - even at a higher lease amount, then they must have found it feasible to stay. In other words, if it had been renewed, they would still be there for - however many years. So, now that the lease has not been renewed, why is it not feasible for them to not move to a different space? Confused... here....

Karen,

That is what I was thinking. I've been wracking my brain for available space of that size and I can't think of any. Well, there is one building with a ground floor space that looks empty - at the Reston Town Center. It is on Library Street I believe. But I could be wrong and it really isn't available. And even if it was, the rent would probably be unreal!!

We deserve an mid size independent bookstore with an atmosphere that fosters community. Time to take a few steps back, pony up a little more money per book, and support a non chain vibe in Reston. This place is becoming a big ole Wal Mart. Break the chains.

I'm not an impartial observer. I'm an author and have done book signings at this and other outlets before. (My current book "MISSION TO TOKYO" is reviewed in Oakton Patch). But I'm also a customer, too, and I feel certain Barnes & Noble could have saved this store it it had wanted to. The company's outlets in Fairfax and Reston have always had good people whose efforts aren't sufficient to overcome the flaws of poor management and leadership. The Spectrum Center location in Reston stands out especially for having both -- good people but poor leadership. There won't be any book stores in a few more years anyway, but if Barnes had better management it might be able to postpone the end for a little longer.

The sad thing is that by going down market and renting to Container Store, Lerner will start a slide in the value of their properties in Reston. Short term they make some money, but in the longer term Reston Parkway will begin to look like Route 1 south of Alexandria or Route 7 beyond Tysons Corner. Yuk.

Last day is Feb 28, 2013