[EXCLUSIVE] Surprising Retailer Looks to Start New "Chapter" in Chastain Park

In a move we can confidently say no one saw coming, a new brick and mortar bookstore is planned for the remaining portion of the former Sprouts Farmers Market next to Trader Joe's in Chastain Park.  

Multiple sources with knowledge of the transaction tell ToNeTo Atlanta that Books-A-Million (BAM!) recently executed a lease to join the popular grocer in Chastain Market (4600 Roswell Road).  

The deal marks the first Books-A-Million inside the perimeter.  The Birmingham-based retailer currently operates more than 250 stores around the country including Georgia stores in McDonough, Canton, Douglasville (Arbor Place Mall), and Lawrenceville (Sugarloaf Mills).  A store at The Avenue in Peachtree City closed this past January and is expected to reopen later this spring in nearby Westpark Walk, where it will open in place of a former Tuesday Morning. 

Coincidentally, the bookseller's former space in The Avenue is expected to reopen later this fall as a new Trader Joe's.  

The Books-A-Million of today is reminiscent of the Media Play of yesteryear, with plenty of books, but also magazines, manga, collectibles, toys, technology, and gifts, too.  

Books-A-Million started in 1917 and went public in 1992.   In December 2015, the company was acquired by its chairman, Clyde B. Anderson, and his family for $21 million.

In addition to its namesake brand, Books-A-Million also operates 2nd & Charles, which primarily focuses on used media and collectibles, with Atlanta area locations in Kennesaw, Roswell, and Columbus.  The company also operates Yogurt Mountain, a frozen yogurt business that for a short time had a location at The Prado, also along Roswell Road in Sandy Springs.  Books-A-Million also owns Joe Muggs Newsstand, which in the early 2000s had stores at 3275 Peachtree Road and at Howell Mill Village (2020 Howell Mill Road) in Buckhead.  

The new roughly 11,000 square foot store, officially in the City of Sandy Springs, is just north of Chastain Park.  A few miles away, Buckhead was once home to a dizzying number of bookstores, including Waldenbooks, B. Dalton Booksellers, Chapter 11 Books, C Dickens, Doubleday Book Shop, Borders Books & Music, Media Play, and the beloved Oxford Books.  

Today, the last remaining bookstore in the immediate area is Barnes & Noble in The Peach shopping center (2900 Peachtree Road).  

At just 11,000 square feet, the new store may seem small to some, but it's worth noting that the Barnes & Noble store that opened in a portion of the former Bed Bath & Beyond at The Avenue East Cobb is only about 15,000 square feet.  That said, the company was able to design and curate the store to make it feel in some ways bigger than it is, but still cozy.  Books-A-Million will likely do something similar.   

Have you ever been to a Books-A-Million store?  Are you excited for the addition of Books-A-Million to Chastain Park?  What would you like to see open in place of the former Tupelo Honey Cafe at Chastain Market?

Please share your thoughts below.