A bookstore brand owned by Books-A-Million, known for trading cash and credit for used paperbacks, video games and collectibles, is finally crossing into North Texas, and Plano is getting the first crack at it. 2nd & Charles plans to open a new store in the city before the end of 2026, marking the brand's debut in the Dallas-Fort Worth area after years of operating everywhere else in the state.
The 25,000-square-foot store is expected to create 30 jobs, according to Community Impact. It will be the first 2nd & Charles location in North Texas, a region the chain has notably skipped despite building out a presence elsewhere in the state. The store buys, sells and trades used books, video games, consoles, movies, CDs, toys and collectibles, giving shoppers a place to unload old media and pick up something new to them for less.
Shoppers can exchange items for cash or store credit, according to Scott Kappler, 2nd & Charles' executive vice president of operations. “That trade model keeps prices affordable, gives great items a second life,” Kappler said, per Community Impact's reporting.
Where the Store Will Sit in Plano
The new location is set to land near the intersection of Preston Road and Park Boulevard, a busy corner of the city, as reported by The Dallas Morning News. The newspaper's reporting points to a December opening for the chain's first North Texas store. Until now, the Dallas-Fort Worth area has been a notable gap on the map for 2nd & Charles, even though the company runs roughly 50 retail sites across other parts of the country and state, the same report notes.
In Texas specifically, the chain currently operates three other stores, in Beaumont, Lubbock and Conroe, Community Impact reports. Kappler framed the Plano opening as a logical next move rather than a one-off bet. “Plano is a natural first step in North Texas,” he said, adding that he believes the community will embrace the store. He also said the Dallas-Fort Worth area has an enormous appetite for books, entertainment and pop culture.
Part of a Broader North Texas Bookstore Push
The Plano opening isn't happening in isolation. Bookstores are continuing to expand across the region, the same Dallas Morning News article notes, pointing to Frisco adding a local bookstore and Barnes & Noble investing in the area, including a new shop in Prosper. That steady drumbeat of openings suggests North Texas readers and collectors have been underserved relative to demand, a gap 2nd & Charles appears eager to fill.
The chain's expansion hasn't been limited to North Texas. A separate opening is planned for Humble, which would become the company's fourth Texas location, according to HKA Texas. That store is set to sit at 20416 Eastex Freeway in Deerbrook Marketplace, between World Market and Office Depot. 2nd & Charles locations elsewhere have come with extra flourishes beyond the trade counter; a store that opened in Utica years ago spanned 30,000 square feet and even included its own coffee shop, called ChuckStop, according to a 2016 report from Metro Times.
For Plano shoppers, the appeal is straightforward: a sizable new retail space built around buying, selling and trading the kind of media and collectibles that don't always have an obvious secondhand home. With a 30-job hiring need and a prominent spot near Preston Road and Park Boulevard, the store is shaping up to be one of the more visible retail additions in the city before the year is out.
