Wayne is getting its own Barnes & Noble, with the retailer preparing to open a new store along Route 23 later this month. The location will open with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and events featuring local authors on November 18, bringing a long-anticipated bookstore to town.
The new store is taking over the former Gary's Wine & Marketplace space, according to News12 New Jersey, though NJBIZ reports the chain is instead taking over space left vacant by wine, beer and spirits seller Wayne Buy Rite. NJBIZ places the store at 1308 Route 23 in a 22,000-square-foot space set for a November 2026 grand opening. The Wayne location will be Barnes & Noble's third in Passaic County, joining existing stores in Clifton and Woodland Park, per the same account.
Store manager Richard Oswald said community excitement has been building as residents look forward to having a bookstore closer to home, according to News12. He added that browsing shelves and holding a physical book remains special, even in an age of digital reading.
What's On the Shelves
The Wayne store will feature books, toys, games and gifts, News12 reports, and NJBIZ notes the space will carry a curated selection of books, toys, games, magazines and gifts alongside a Barnes & Noble Café. News12 adds that the café will serve Starbucks beverages, sandwiches and sweets. Barnes & Noble plans to adjust its displays and selections to meet Wayne customers' preferences, per News12's reporting.
Part of a Bigger Expansion Push
The Wayne opening lands amid a broader growth streak for the bookseller. Barnes & Noble has opened more than 100 new stores nationwide over the past two years and expects to add 60 more in 2026, according to NJBIZ. USA Today reported in September that the chain had opened about 28 stores across 15 states and Washington, DC, since the start of 2026.
The company now counts well over 700 bookstores after dipping below 600 as recently as 2023, according to a statement from Barnes & Noble Inc. That statement also noted the company opened more new bookstores in 2024 alone than it had during the entire decade from 2009 to 2019.
Other New Jersey Locations
Wayne's new store follows recent additions elsewhere in the state. Barnes & Noble opened a relocated Livingston store in August in the Livingston Shopping Center, just under two miles from its former spot in Livingston Mall, offering more than 25,000 square feet of books, toys, games, magazines, gifts and a café, per the company's statement. A year earlier, the retailer opened a roughly 10,000-square-foot store in Clark Commons, in a space formerly occupied by Party City, with that location opening to the public at 9 a.m. on August 13, 2025.
