Crossgates Mall has a new anchor for book lovers. A Barnes & Noble bookstore opened for business in Guilderland on Wednesday, bringing books, toys, games, vinyl records and a café to the mall's upper level.
The new store opened its doors on October 28, 2026, according to wgna.com, which reported the bookstore measures 18,000 square feet. An earlier announcement from Crossgates had described the planned store as covering more than 18,000 square feet, so the exact final footprint is not pinned down across the available sources. Either way, it is a sizable addition to the mall, landing on the upper level next to REI, according to Pyramid Management Group, the mall's management company.
Shoppers browsing the new location will find more than just shelves of novels. Besides books, the store also features toys, games, vinyl albums and a café, per the same wgna.com report. Crossgates had earlier said the store was designed with comfortable reading areas where customers are encouraged to linger, a touch meant to turn a quick stop into a longer visit.
First of Three Planned for Upstate New York
The Guilderland store is not a standalone project. It is the first of three new Barnes & Noble locations opening in Upstate New York this year, the station's report notes, suggesting more openings could follow elsewhere in the region before 2026 closes out.
That regional rollout fits into a much bigger national push. Barnes & Noble has opened about 28 stores across 15 states and Washington, D.C., since the start of 2026, according to USA Today. That expansion has pushed the company's total footprint past 720 bookstores nationwide, per the same report — though an earlier Crossgates announcement had put the company's total at more than 700 stores across the country.
Why the Chain Keeps Expanding
USA Today reports that Barnes & Noble credits strong sales and a strategy that gives local booksellers greater control over their stores for fueling the growth, and the company says it plans to continue opening new stores through the end of 2026. That local-control approach has been part of the chain's turnaround story in recent years, and the Guilderland opening gives Capital Region shoppers a firsthand look at what that strategy produces on the ground.
For now, the Crossgates location stands as the latest proof point in a chain that was once written off by many as shrinking, and is instead busy filling in gaps across Upstate New York and well beyond it.
