Barnes & Noble’s closure will leave El Cerrito in a virtual book desert

For some who go to a bookstore, it’s mostly to browse or to quickly pick up that bestseller that a friend told them to check out. For book lovers, though, a bookstore is more. 

It is a place to escape whatever is going on, to get lost in a world that for a short time is better than their reality. Even if they don’t leave the store with anything, it still provided the safe haven they needed. 

This is a feeling book-lovers of El Cerrito will no longer get to experience. After 20 years of business, Barnes & Noble will be closing its store in El Cerrito Plaza by Jan. 19, leaving 22 employees without jobs. 

The store was not given an opportunity to renew its lease, James Daunt, Barnes & Noble CEO, told Richmond Confidential. 

“No choice was given because when you are sent a letter saying you have until this day to vacate, you don’t have that chance,” said Daunt, who has led the bookstore chain since 2019. 

Regency Centers, the El Cerrito Plaza owner, did not respond to requests for comment. 

Asked about what will replace Barnes & Noble in the building, Melanie Mintz, El Cerrito community development director, said, “We don’t know at this time what new business or businesses will take over.” 

Workers caught off-guard

Customers visiting the El Cerrito store first noticed that something was amiss in the summer when a store-wide sale was announced. 

“I came by to get my little sister a gift,” said Brenda Rodriguez of San Pablo. “When I saw that big 50% sale, I don’t know, it gave me a feeling.” 

Employees also were caught off-guard.  “The news of the closure was a surprise for me and my co-workers,” said a worker who was not authorized to talk to the media. 

Along with the San Jose Almaden Plaza store, El Cerrito workers fought the closure with an online petition that accumulated over 3,000 signatures. They first heard about the possibility of a closure at a meeting in January with management. Earlier that month, El Cerrito employees had moved to unionize, and in April, they joined the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5.

“I didn’t understand why they waited until after we unionized to tell us. … It wasn’t until after we won our election in April, that management officially confirmed the store’s closure,” the worker said. 

They first were told that closure could happen when the lease was set to expire in June, the worker said. When confirmation of the closure came, they were told the lease was extended to January. The worker said employees are still in the process of negotiating contracts and severance pay. 

Daunt said the store’s closure had nothing to do with unionization. “A store’s average life is about 20 years. So while the distrust of employees and company does occur, unionization just wasn’t the factor,” he said. 

Book desert

Barnes & Noble’s impending closure will leave El Cerrito and the neighboring cities of Richmond and San Pablo in a book dessert, except for public libraries. Various bookstores exist in the Berkeley area, with the closest Barnes & Noble being at the Bay Street Shopping Center in Emeryville. 

While stores such as Walmart and Target have become a book destination since the rise of the TikTok feature #BookTok, nothing can compare to walking into a bookstore and getting lost in a world of one’s choosing.

It’s a feeling Rodriguez understands, “I don’t know, there’s just something about walking into a bookstore. You have memories there, even if you don’t get anything,” she said. “It’s sad.”

Bargains may assuage some of the sorrow. The El Cerrito store has been hosting a 25% off sale, encouraging shoppers to pick up their favorites and some gifts for the upcoming holidays. 

(Photo by Joseph De La Cruz)

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