Saturday, December 30, 2017

Why is Barnes & Noble closed at Bethesda Row? (Photos)

Barnes & Noble is scheduled to close forever at Bethesda Row on January 11, 2018. But patrons this weekend have been surprised to find the doors already locked. The store closed at 5:00 PM yesterday, and won't reopen until 9:00 AM on January 3. Is this an early closure, or a way to clear more time to pack up inventory? Barnes & Noble says a "heat outage" is to blame for the closure.



21 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am confused. Your article title asks why they are closed and then your last line answers your own question.

Anonymous said...

I think this is Robert’s attempt at hard hitting investigative journalism. He doesn’t believe the answer provided by B&N. Let’s see if he ends up being right or wrong.

Anonymous said...

Is anthropologie moving in the space?

Anonymous said...

Shame they decided not to open on this final weekend of the holiday.

Elm said...

1:44 PM/2:23 PM/2:50 PM Please keep your sick "janitor" fantasy to yourself. This was the longest windup (several days) to a lame punch line. The "weird janitor"...really? You can be more creative than that.

Anonymous said...

Is Barnes and Nobles allowed to do construction and repair of their heating system during quiet hours or can they only do it during the specific hours allowed?

Anonymous said...

Amazon will move here when Anthropologie fails. Better location for a bookstore than the other end of the block.

Boyce Bowles said...

Let's be clear: The loss of Barnes & Noble and the Regal theaters have a negative on impact on Bethesda residents' quality of life. In addition, losing the theater has a negative impact on the restaurants and represents a net loss of people visiting the downtown.

Meanwhile, the Regal theaters in downtown Rockville & Silver Spring have been packing in crowds for holiday blockbuster films. Many of those are dining in local restaurants and visiting neighboring stores.

Anonymous said...

Moment of truth coming in 30 minutes..... will they open? Was it truly a “heat outage” or “Is this an early closure, or a way to clear more time to pack up inventory?”

Anonymous said...

They are open! Heat was fixed. Looks like Dyer was wrong.

Robert Dyer said...

7:36: I wasn't "wrong." I never said they weren't reopening.

Anonymous said...

That is true you never said they weren’t reopening. But you certainly had a hunch that they weren’t being honest. Your recent several posts clearly show that you take some closures a face value and others with skepticism. So then your hunch was off. And your conspiracy theories of inventory and early closing unwarranted.

Anonymous said...

#ThanksHans

Anonymous said...

You also were wrong about construction noise.

Robert Dyer said...

11:39: Not only was I correct about construction noise, but you can verify I was by calling the County DEP, and asking if construction sites adjacent to residential buildings can operate at night without a noise waiver from the County, including beeping trucks

Anonymous said...

I just called the county. They said as long as noise is kept within the noise limit you can do any work that stays under the limit. Beeping trucks are louder than the limit and are a violation. I asked about laying tile as an example and she said yes of course if you stay under the noise limit.

Robert Dyer said...

5:13: We're making progress - our resident troll previously claimed beeping trucks were allowed. You could indeed lay tile at your home or at a small business by yourself at night.

But remember, we're talking about large construction sites with dozens of personnel. They would be slapped with a stop work order if they attempted to converge on a site at 4:00 AM to lay tile or anything else. This is what the folks complained about.

Anonymous said...

Any noise by any project big or small is allowed as long as it is under the noise limit.

Indeed we are finally making progress, thank you! Thank you for admitting finally that yes you can do Construction during quiet hours if you stay under the limit.

I don’t see anyone saying beeping trucks were allowed in the comments, perhaps I missed it?

Anonymous said...

Fake news!!!!!

Anonymous said...

'They would be slapped with a stop work order if they attempted to converge on a site at 4:00 AM to lay tile or anything else"

But the fact that they weren't slapped with a stop-work order shows how wrong you are.

Anonymous said...

#fakenews