Next bookstore to close: Barnes & Noble in Pasadena

File photo of the final clearance sale at Barnes & Noble in Westside Pavilion.

The Old Pasadena outpost of Barnes & Noble on Colorado Boulevard is closing for good on New Year's Eve. The company explained back in November that B&N tried to agree on new lease terms with the landlord, but could not reach a deal. This continues the distasteful little Barnes & Noble tradition of shuttering local bookstores on the last night of the year. Last December it was the store in Woodland Hills; the year before it was Westside Pavilion. In the final weeks before the Pico and Westwood store closed, a Barnes & Noble executive said the firm was scouring the Westside for a new location: "When we find the right location with the right economics, you’ll see another store one." Still looking, I guess.

From the Star-News story:

David Deason, vice president of development for Barnes & Noble, released a statement about the pending closure.

“We have operated the Pasadena location for the past 20 years,” Deason said. “Our lease is expiring in February 2014 and we worked diligently to come to an agreement with the property owner, but were unable to come to terms to extend the lease. As a result, the store will be closing at the end of this year.”

In late January, Barnes & Noble announced plans to shutter up to one-third of its stores over the next decade.

Barnes & Noble still has several stores around Southern California — I was browsing in the 3rd Street Promenade store in Santa Monica just the other day, but bought around the corner at Hennessey + Ingalls. Pasadena still has Vroman's so might not miss B&N all that much, though the closure leaves a big hole on the Colorado side of Old Town. Whither the adjoining Starbucks, I do not know.

Guess how many B&N's are left within the city limits of Los Angeles: On the Barnes & Noble website, I count 2½ — In The Grove and at Maxella and Glencoe avenues on the LA side of Marina Del Rey, plus a Bookstar outlet in Studio City.

Also from LA Observed: Bookstores that have closed in the Los Angeles area