There has long been a divide between large retail bookstores and locally-owned independent bookstores. Now, as those small bookstores begin to close under financial distress, retail stores may end up being their saviors.

Barnes & Noble, once heralded as the killer of independent bookstores, has spent the years following the 2020 COVID pandemic buying small bookstores on the verge of bankruptcy. The bookstores keep their name, locations, staff and even loyalty and rewards points for customers while Barnes & Noble provides financial support and supply chain efficiency.

“This is very much not Barnes & Noble roaming the countryside, looking for great indie bookstore chains and acquiring them,” James Daunt, Barnes & Noble CEO, said in an interview. “These are very storied and rather remarkable bookstore chains, which, for all sorts of reasons, have gone bankrupt and are closing – literally closing their doors and disappearing – and we’re providing them a safe harbor, which we think is a worthwhile and important thing to do.”

One of the stores Barnes & Noble bought was Books Inc. in 2025. The 174-year-old San Francisco Bay Area bookstore was founded in 1851 during the California Gold Rush. According to their website, it’s the West Coast’s oldest independent bookseller.

The bookstore first declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the 1990s but managed to recover. Following the COVID pandemic in 2020, the company struggled with financial losses and declared bankruptcy again in Jan. 2024.

This time, Barnes & Noble stepped in with a $3.25 million deal, allowing Books Inc. to stay open under their own name and keep control of their nine locations.

Tattered Cover in Denver, Colo. has a similar story. Opened in 1971, it held the title of the largest Black-owned indie bookstore in the U.S. before being bought by Barnes & Noble in 2023.

Barnes & Noble runs their new acquisitions the same as they run their own bookstores. Individual stores can choose what titles to stock and how to display them. Although Books Inc. and Tattered Cover have access to Barnes & Noble’s technology and distribution partners, Daunt says the leadership and current employees and inventory decisions and ordering will remain the same as it was before.

“You, the bookselling team, need to get on and curate your stores and make them a really good bookstore again, and you no longer have financial impediment to doing that,” Daunt told Books Inc. employees.

According to Daunt, Tattered Cover is now back to pre-COVID sales levels and climbing.

Barnes & Noble’s latest acquisition was Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Sept. 2026.

“This decision was made for the continued success of Joseph-Beth booksellers,” Robert Langley, Joseph-Beth owner, said following the announcement. “For 40 years, Joseph-Beth has been more than a bookstore. It has been a gathering place for readers, families, local authors, teachers and neighbors. In honoring its importance to the communities its two stores service and to support its future longevity, this decision was necessary.”

Barnes & Noble swears by its goal to promote literacy and preserve local bookstores. With the rise of retail stores and increasing financial pressure on small independent bookstores, there may come a time when indie bookstores will have to choose between taking on the protection of a larger chain or closing their doors on a new chapter.