Local News

Harvard Book Store to open new location in Prudential Center

The second branch of the bookstore is set to open in the spring of 2023.

David L. Ryan / The Boston Globe

July 15, 2022

Harvard Book Store, a landmark of Harvard Square that’s been around since 1932, announced Thursday that it’s opening a second location, in the Prudential Center in Boston next spring.

The new store will be over 29,000 square feet and take the space of Barnes and Noble, which closed on June 19.

“We are delighted to bring Harvard Book Store to the City of Boston, while continuing our long tradition of bookselling at our flagship Cambridge location,” said Jeff Mayersohn, co-owner of the Harvard Book Store with his wife, Linda Seamonson, and John Henry, who also owns Boston Globe Media, including Boston.com.

Operating under a long-term lease with Boston Properties, owner of the Prudential Center, the new location is slated to have a “state-of-the-art event space” and “vibrant community spaces” in addition to a wide range of books, children’s included, according to a release.

“This is an ambitious project and we think we’ve established an excellent team to bring it to fruition,” Mayersohn said. “We envision it as an important addition to the literary life in the city and a welcoming space serving the many communities of Boston. We thank John and Linda Henry, whose recent investment in our company enables us to expand in this way.”

The independent store has a robust author event series of book talks and signings in Cambridge. Bryan Koop, vice president of Boston Properties for the Boston region, referenced these as a specific draw for the store to be in the Prudential Center.

This addition is the latest in a recent string of indie bookstore locations opening in Boston. A new bookstore called Beacon Hill Books & Cafe is opening in Beacon Hill this fall and includes a café on the first floor with three stories of books above it. Porter Square Books opened a second branch in the Seaport called Porter Square Books: Boston Edition this past fall, partnering with the creative writing nonprofit GrubStreet. Like the Harvard Book Store, their second location took them out of Cambridge and into Boston for the first time.

East End Books Ptown of Provincetown is similarly opening a second bookstore in the Seaport called East End Books Boston Seaport. They’re hosting a pop-up event in their new space on Aug. 9 with the full opening to come around the holiday season.