Barnes & Noble will open Lutherville Station store next week

Baltimore County book lovers will soon have a new spot to browse for holiday gifts.

Barnes & Noble plans on Wednesday to open a 17,500-square-foot bookstore and cafe at the Lutherville Station shopping center, the company said in a press release. The store will take over a location at 130 W. Ridgely Road that was most recently home to RH Outlet and previously hosted a Borders bookstore.

Another location, scheduled to open in Harbor East Dec. 9, will be Baltimore’s first stand-alone Barnes & Noble bookstore in six years.

The company also operates stores in Pikesville and White Marsh. Its once-popular Towson location closed nearly a decade ago.

“For me, this is about more than opening another Barnes & Noble,” store manager Sheldon Kulbicki said in a statement. “I remember what it was like to shop at the Towson store, and I know how much people have missed having a Barnes & Noble here. Getting the opportunity to help bring it back and create new memories for customers is what makes this opening so exciting.”

The Lutherville Station site is a largely vacant shopping center and parking lot next to a light rail station. Developers have spent years trying to transform it into a mixed-use community with apartments, retail and green space. But the housing proposals, in particular, have faced fierce resistance from nearby residents, who have raised concerns about traffic and school overcrowding.

The Baltimore County Council voted in September to grant Lutherville Station a transit-oriented development designation, making the project eligible for state grants, loans and tax credits.

Now, Barnes & Noble is set to join Old Navy as the development’s retail tenants.

“We could not be more pleased to make our return to this wonderful community,” Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt said in a statement. “We have long enjoyed the support of readers in the Towson area and are delighted to have a new home nearby in Timonium.”

Barnes & Noble’s arrival at Lutherville Station will mark the latest chapter in the retail bookstore’s expansion in Maryland. The company opened stores last year in Pasadena and Westminster.

The bookseller is experiencing a nationwide revival, with plans to open 60 stores in 2026.