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- 🐦 Guess who's back
🐦 Guess who's back
(the answer is bookstores in 2025)
Just Outside DC
June 27, 2025
Welcome to Just Outside DC — the only local newsletter that shoots to thrill and is ready to kill.
Today’s factoid is: Since tomatoes are native to the Americas, there was no tomato sauce in Italy until the 16th century.
THE BIG IDEA
*Slim Shady voice* — Guess who’s back? Answer: Barnes & Noble (in Tysons)
Speaking of being back, after a year-long absence, the bookstore giant is returning to one of Northern Virginia's busiest shopping destinations. But this isn't just another store opening.
Barnes & Noble shuttered its Tysons Corner location in May 2024, leaving local book lovers scrambling for alternatives. Now they're back — with a twist that reflects how the entire industry is rethinking retail.
Despite being smaller than its predecessor, it packs in nearly the same number of bookcases
The space showcases Barnes & Noble's latest design philosophy — one that's been turning heads at recent openings. “It’s like a maze in there” said a first-time visitor”
Barnes & Noble is actually growing right now. In an era when physical retail is supposedly dying, they opened more stores in 2024 than in the entire decade from 2009 to 2019. They're planning 60+ new locations in 2025 alone.
The secret sauce? They've handed control back to local booksellers instead of micromanaging from corporate headquarters. But there's another factor: they're perfectly positioned to capitalize on the romance novel boom that's reshaping publishing.
Here's what makes Barnes & Noble's expansion even more remarkable: they're riding a wave that Amazon can't fully capture. Romance novels, driven largely by Gen Z and millennial women, are absolutely exploding. Print book sales grew 1% in 2024 after two years of decline, with adult fiction gains led by fantasy, thrillers, and romance.
The driving force? BookTok (the book-focused parts of TikTok) and what's being called "romantasy" — fantasy book sales were up 62% through the first nine months of 2024. But here's the twist: these readers want physical books.
Why digital can't compete:
Romance readers collect beautiful covers and want to display their favorites
BookTok thrives on aesthetically pleasing book photos and "shelfies"
Physical bookstores offer the browsing and discovery experience that algorithms can't replicate
The display window of the new location, entirely dominated by romance titles.
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Bulletin Board 📌
LIVE EVENT LOWDOWN
Friday Night Live! | the DC area’s best outdoor summer concert series continues tonight in Herndon 🎸
Summer on the Green | select outdoor concerts in the town of Vienna tonight and through to August 🎷
Food and Culture Fest | 40+ food trucks and vendors slinging gourmet dishes, sweets, and artisan crafts in Springfield all through this weekend 😋
Fairfax Funky Flea | an outdoor community market in the heart of Fairfax, with over 70 vendors on Saturday! 🛍️
Sal Vulcano (Impractical Jokers) is playing Capital One Hall in Tysons and there’s still tickets left 🎤
One Loudoun Carnival | the carnival is back in Ashburn until the end of June and won’t return until August 🎡
The Roots (Tonight Show) are returning to Wolf Trap for a one-day only concert on Sunday evening 🎵
We asked ChatGPT to make an image that only people in NoVA would understand… lots going on here lol.
Thanks for reading!
That’s all for today, if you enjoyed this edition, share the newsletter with a friend!
We’ll see you in the next issue, same time, same place (your email inbox).
Love,
Team JODC 🐦
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