Westside Pavilion Barnes & Noble To Shut Down

(Flickr pic by mirtai.)

This was a shocker. As LA Observed reports, the popular (and usually pretty busy) Barnes & Noble at the Westside Pavilion is shutting down. That will leave no major commercial book store between Santa Monica and The Grove. That's stunning news for westsiders -- and even UCLA students who ventured down Westwood to hang out there. LA Observed writes:

Quiet talk has been around for a few weeks, but now red clearance sale signs have gone up — 30 percent off on a lot of books — and store clerks acknowledged today that they have been given the word. The multi-story Barnes & Noble at Pico and Westwood boulevards will close around the end of the year. Word on the street is that the H&M store in Westside Pavilion will expand into the higher-profile corner location. There's no official confirmation from the mall or from Barnes & Noble.

Reaction on Twitter was swift and surprised. Writes Joni Yung: "what??!?!" Terry McCarty adds: "Damn. So the definition of the Westside brick-and-mortar bookstore has changed to mostly used booksellers."