MOBILE, Ala. — Barnes & Noble is back in Mobile. The national bookseller opens its new store in the McGregor Square shopping center at 3930-B Airport Blvd. at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, ending an absence from the city that stretches back to 2010.
The opening comes with a lineup of family activities and local author appearances that will continue through the first weekend, giving readers several chances to meet writers with deep Gulf Coast roots.
Opening Day Activities
The store has planned a celebration for its first day. Arthur, the aardvark from the long-running children’s books and PBS animated series, is scheduled to make an appearance, and there will be face-painting for children.
Arthur first appeared in author and illustrator Marc Brown’s picture book “Arthur’s Nose” in 1976, and the character went on to star in one of the longest-running children’s animated series in American television history. Generations of young readers have grown up with Arthur and his friends, making him a natural fit for a bookstore’s family-friendly debut.
Two local authors are also set to appear on opening day: Mobile novelist Watt Key and historian Paul Brueske.
Author Appearances Through the Weekend
The author events continue after opening day. The store’s announced schedule includes:
- Wednesday, Sept. 23: Opening at 10 a.m. with Watt Key and Paul Brueske, a visit from Arthur and face-painting for kids.
- Thursday, Sept. 24, 5 p.m.: David Preston.
- Saturday, Sept. 26, 10 a.m.: Paula Lenor Webb.
- Saturday, Sept. 26, 1 p.m.: Leslie Anne Tarabella.
- Saturday, Sept. 26, 3 p.m.: Joe Cuhaj.
Readers planning to attend may want to check with the store ahead of time for details on book signings and any changes to the schedule.
Meet the Authors
Watt Key
Watt Key is one of the best-known writers living in Mobile. His debut novel, “Alabama Moon,” published in 2006, follows a boy raised in the wilderness of south Alabama. It won the E.B. White Read-Aloud Award and was adapted into a 2009 film starring John Goodman. Key has since written a string of young adult adventure novels, including “Dirt Road Home,” “Fourmile,” “Terror at Bottle Creek,” “Hideout,” “Deep Water” and “Bay Boy,” many of them set in the swamps, rivers and backwoods of the region. He holds an MBA from Spring Hill College in Mobile.
Paul Brueske
Paul Brueske is a Gulf Coast native and Civil War historian. He is the author of “The Last Siege: The Mobile Campaign, Alabama 1865,” a history of the Union campaign against Mobile in the final weeks of the war. Brueske founded the Mobile Civil War Round Table and is also the head track and field coach at the University of South Alabama.
Paula Lenor Webb
Paula Lenor Webb is a librarian at the University of South Alabama and a Mobile author. Her books include “Such a Woman: The Life of Madame Octavia Walton LeVert,” a biography of the 19th-century Mobile society figure and writer, and the mystery “Mississippi Mojo… And Murder,” written with Mary S. Palmer.
Leslie Anne Tarabella
Leslie Anne Tarabella is an Alabama writer and columnist known for humorous essays about Southern life. Her books include “We Don’t Push in Fairhope: Stories from the Changing South.”
Joe Cuhaj
Joe Cuhaj is a longtime outdoors writer whose guidebooks have helped hikers explore the state for years. His titles include “Hiking Alabama” and “Hiking Through History Alabama.”
David Preston
David Preston rounds out the week’s schedule with a Thursday evening appearance at 5 p.m.
A Long Gap for Mobile Readers
Barnes & Noble first came to south Alabama in the spring of 1994, when it opened a store at Springdale Mall on Airport Boulevard. That location closed in 2010 after lease negotiations fell through.
Springdale, which opened in 1959 as one of Mobile’s first major shopping centers, has since been largely converted back into an open-air center anchored by big-box retailers.
After the Springdale store closed, the chain’s only coastal Alabama location was at the Eastern Shore Centre in Spanish Fort, across Mobile Bay in Baldwin County. That store remains open, so the region now has two Barnes & Noble locations, one on each side of the bay.
For more than 15 years, Mobile-side shoppers looking for the chain had to cross the Bayway or the Causeway to reach Spanish Fort, shop online or rely on other booksellers in town.
Where to Find It
McGregor Square sits at 3930 Airport Blvd., near the intersection with McGregor Avenue in west-central Mobile. Airport Boulevard is one of the city’s primary commercial corridors, and the new store sits just a short drive west of the old Springdale site.
According to the company’s store listing, the Mobile location includes a cafe, a toys and games section and vinyl records in addition to books. Like other Barnes & Noble stores, it plans to host author signings, readings, storytimes and other events.
A Changing Bookstore Chain
The Mobile opening fits a broader trend for Barnes & Noble. After years of closing stores, the company has shifted in recent years toward opening new locations across the country, often in smaller formats with more locally curated selections chosen by individual store managers.
For Mobile, the return adds another option to a local book scene that also includes independent sellers and the Mobile Public Library system.
If You Go
- What: Barnes & Noble grand opening
- Where: McGregor Square, 3930-B Airport Blvd., Mobile
- When: Opens 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23
- Opening day: Arthur, face-painting for kids, authors Watt Key and Paul Brueske
- More authors: David Preston (5 p.m. Thursday); Paula Lenor Webb (10 a.m. Saturday); Leslie Anne Tarabella (1 p.m. Saturday); Joe Cuhaj (3 p.m. Saturday)