In a turnaround of the typical chain-indie face-off, Joseph-Beth Booksellers has opened its second Cleveland, Ohio, store—across the street from Borders Books & Music.
The 27,000-sq.-ft. store, which opened October 24 and stocks 110,000 titles, is in the newly built, upscale Legacy Village Shopping Center, in Lyndhurst, a suburb on the eastern side of the city. It's not far from the first Cleveland-area Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Shaker Heights, which opened its doors three years ago. Cleveland is the hometown of Joseph-Beth owner Neil Van Uum, who has stores in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Lexington, Ky. He also owns Davis-Kidd Booksellers, which has three stores in Tennessee.
Van Uum, who predicts the economy will turn around soon, commented, "This is a good place and time for us to try to grow the top line. Legacy Village is bringing in a lot of high-end retailers and restaurants new to northern Ohio, like Restoration Hardware, Crate & Barrel, the Bombay Company and the Cheesecake Factory. Parking at Legacy Village was maxed out this past weekend. All the markets are there around us. I feel very comfortable with this project."
