Barnes and Noble to Close Westside Pavillion Location at Pico and Westwood

[Orli Belman]

The three-story Barnes and Noble on the corner of Pico and Westwood Blvds. will be closing its doors around the end of the year reports Kevin Roderick  at LAObserved. Sad news for those of us who've enjoyed reading with our kids in the children's section, flipping through magazines in the cafe, and having the ability to grab books at a convenient location with evening and weekend hours.

 

But perhaps what people loved about the store was actually not great for business. Too much perusing, not enough purchasing. As Mark Lacter points out in his LABiz Observed post: "People aren't buying much in bookstores anymore."

 

Roderick says H&M may be moving from its location inside the Westside Pavillion to take over the outside corner spot.

With the former Borders in Westwood being replaced by the just-opened Ross Dress for Less, it seems our latest discount fashion options may be coming at a steep price.

 

Thankfully, Rancho Park still has Children's Book World and the Palms-Rancho Park Library.

 

Will you travel out of the area to shop for books, or were you not buying them anymore anyway? We'd love to read your thoughts on the end of this chapter.

 

UPDATE 10/28: The folks at the Westside Pavillion are telling us that furniture retailer Urban Home will be moving in to the Barnes and Noble spot. H&M will stay where it is inside the mall.

[Dorothy Fahn]

Sad, sad, sad! We've been shopping at that B&N for years - my daughter gets all her books there (thru the years of Elmo and Princess books to the present Harry Potter books) and it's where I shop every Christmas! It's just a shame that such a wonderful bookstore will be gone!

[Orli Belman]

Thanks for the update Whitney. I have been to the Urban Home stores both in Westlake and Sherman Oaks. They do have nice stuff at surprisingly good prices. http://www.shopurbanhome.com/

[Whitney Wigle Kleinhenz]

Acutally, H&M will remain in its current location.  A new retailer by the name of Urban Home will be taking over the former Barnes and Nobles location and is anticipating a Summer 2012 opening. If you are not familiar with Urban Home, they are known for affordable, chic and trendy home décor.

[Risa Okin]

So sad for all of us in the good. What a cornerstone of activity and culture it has been. I hate the trend of cheap clothing stores coming in. Bugs me almost as much as the glut of mattress stores in the area!

[Orli Belman]

Good points Dan. If you look across the street from Barnes and Noble, you'll see the great beauty supply store on the northwest corner of the Pico and Westwood intersection is gone too. And of course Westwood Blvd itself has many vacant storefronts south of Pico.

[Dan Ilves]

This is yet another sad story -- but then, it never made sense to me how these bookstores were going to survive, when people spent lots of time there reading and perusing, and never buying.  But then, how many of us are buying books online? (Or dare I ask, are we as a society reading that much less?) If we don't support local businesses (even if it costs us a bit more) then we pay the price.

[Debra Silverman]

This is just awful!  I guess there's no fighting the virtual world, though I like to hold my books before I buy them.  Bummer!

[Dennis Trojan]

Ugh. I live in Palms and that Barnes and Noble was nice to have there. I didn't even mind the UCLA students studying for hours in the cafe. Maybe these brick & mortar stores should have a Just Perusing fee to keep them viable. I'd pay a buck. I've noticed that Goodwill in West LA is jazzing up their books section with nice library-like shelves. They seem to be thriving.  And their prices seem to be rising. Peace.