Over the last few months, crews working for the nation’s largest bookseller have been steadily working to transform what once was a Forever 21 fast fashion store at the Mall Del Norte into The Gateway City’s very first Barnes & Noble. Officials have also stoked anticipation by regularly posting progress pics on the store’s social media accounts.
“Look how far we’ve come, Laredo! Next week, store setup begins,” reads the latest update posted to Facebook on Wednesday, September 2, accompanied by photographs showing empty bookshelves and display tables.
“We will start receiving product very soon, filling these shelves with books, gifts, toys & games, vinyl and more. Empty shelves today. Thousands of stories coming soon,” the post further reads.
As MySA previously reported, the border’s newest Barnes & Noble is being built inside the Laredo mall at 5300 San Dario Ave., Suite D1B, Laredo, TX 78401. The bookstore is nestled between a Main Event entertainment center and a TruFit gym on the mall’s west side, right along the northbound side of Interstate 35. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records show that crews began renovating the space this spring and were initially expected to wrap up the $575,000 project by mid-June.
Once the store opens, it’ll be the second all-new location that Barnes & Noble has opened along the South Texas border within the last year. Last November, the bookseller opened a store in another mall — Sunrise Mall in Brownsville — becoming the first Barnes & Noble in the Valley’s largest and oldest city, and the third in the Rio Grande Valley overall. The other two stores are both located in McAllen.
The Laredo store’s more recent social media posts share how Barnes & Noble has finished hiring staff and will soon begin training them, or offer tips on how customers can locate the store. So when will the nearly 20,000-square-foot bookstore open? While the social media posts don’t explicitly mention a date, an automated message that greets callers who dial the soon-to-be-opened store’s phone number does.
“Our grand opening is September 30, 2026, and (we) look forward to welcoming you to our store,” a computerized voice states before the call disconnects.
