Last year, we shed a collective tear when the Barnes & Noble in West Kendall closed its doors after three decades. Now, another one of our beloved literary spots is turning its final page.
Barnes & Noble announced it will close its location at The Shops at Sunset Place on January 13, 2027.
“Barnes & Noble regrets to confirm the closure of the South Miami Barnes & Noble bookstore located at The Shops at Sunset Place (5701 Sunset Drive Suite 196, S. Miami, FL 33143) due to the redevelopment of the location and the end of the lease,” the bookseller said in a statement shared by the Miami New Times.
The two-story location opened in 1999, anchoring the open-air shopping center during its peak as a popular South Miami destination. Now that the mall is slated for demolition in the future, the company had no choice but to pack its shelves.
In recent years, the once-popular Sunset Place has looked like a ghost town with very few spots remaining, such as the AMC, GameTime and Tea & Poets. The 10-acre site was purchased by Midtown Development for $65.5 million in 2020, and is set to feature multiple towers; 1,500 residential units; a 287-room hotel; a theater and 150,000 square feet of retail and dining.
What’s next for Barnes & Noble
The silver lining for local book lovers is that Barnes & Noble technically isn’t going anywhere. Just as the West Kendall store relocated to a new space at The Palms at Town & Country, a Midtown Miami location just opened up in October. It can be found at 3201 N Miami Ave Suite 111, Miami, FL 33127.
Still, it’s hard not to feel a sense of nostalgia for the 27-year-old location. If you’re looking to flip through a bestseller and take a final ride up those escalators, you still have time to visit the Sunset Place store before it says goodbye in January.
