Barnes and Noble at Slatten Ranch in Antioch is packing up and moving to Brentwood this fall the company confirmed.
Although no hard date has been set, Barnes and Noble confirmed via email they are moving to the Streets of Brentwood and will be located in the old REI space. It will also look similar to the Walnut Creek location. The employees will also be re-located to the new store.
On Friday, Barnes & Noble issued the following statement:
“We can confirm we are moving. Our lease ended in Antioch and we have found a new home at Brentwood which will feature our new layout and design. We are targeting early Fall for an opening and will be sending out a press release closer to that time.”
This past year, Antioch Police have responded to Barnes and Noble multiple times for burglary attempts including a pair of individuals who broke in through the backdoor overnight and were found with a large amount of Pokémon cards and other merchandise
The City of Antioch has been hit hard with closures over the past few years for a variety of reasons from economic climate, crime, however, they do have some wins with Harbor Freight and Five Below moving into Slatten Ranch. Antioch has also approved several cannabis shops. Meanwhile, Sean McCauley has worked to bring Smiths Landing and Monica’s Riverview to the downtown area along with several other small business opportunities. He also converted the former Long’s Drugs corporate office to an executive center to create more than 250 jobs.
For a variety of reasons, here is a list of store closures over the past several years within the City of Antioch:
- Jan 2023 – Antioch Bed Bath & Beyond to Close
- Jan 2020 – Macy’s in Antioch Set to Close This Spring
- Aug 2019 – Store Closing: Antioch Sears Offering 10% to 40% Discounts
- America’s Tire (Delta Fair)
- Antioch Coin Shop (2nd Street)
- Antioch Golf N Games
- AMC Cinemas (Deer Valley)
- AMTRAK Station is moving to Oakley
- Babe Ruth Little League
- Bases Loaded Restaurant
- Bed Bath & Beyond
- Big Lots
- Burger King (E 18th)
- BJ’s Brewhouse
- Chelsea’s Sushi (2nd St)
- Chill Coffee (Waldie Plaza)
- Chop Suey
- Cost Plus/World Market
- Four Legs Brewing (Antioch location)
- Jerry’s Hot Dog
- KMART
- Limitless Kitchen and Bath
- Michael Pohl Photography
- Mimi’s Cafe
- Paintball Park
- Red Caboose (after a fire)
- Rivertown Sweets
- Salvation Army
- Snow Shack
- Southern Cafe
- Staples
- Straw Hat Pizza
- Starbucks (A St & 18th)
- Vineyards Driving Range
Items of Interest in terms of Antioch Economic Development:
In April 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) designated Opportunity Zones in 18 States. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created Opportunity Zones to spur investment in distressed communities throughout the country. New investments in Opportunity Zones can receive preferential tax treatment—Antioch, Concord, Pittsburg, Richmond and San Pablo were all included.
Back in 2018, the City of Antioch hired Kwame Reed as its economic development director with a goal to bring quality businesses and jobs while redeveloping underperforming properties. However, a year after the hire, it was learned the city council hired him without providing him any funding or staffing assistance. Reed was appointed acting city manager last year and is juggling both positions.
In Sept. 2020, the Antioch City Council voted 3-2 to postpone a vote on the Delta Fair Village Apartment project which would have brought a $100+ million redevelopment project to the city. The Delta Fair Village Multi-Family home project was a 210-apartment unit facility that would have been developed at the corner of Delta Fair and Buchanan Road with a new 4,000 square foot retail building. In total, there would be five buildings. The total size of the project was estimated of 411,511 square feet with renovation of existing 73,535 of retail space. The project was put on hold in a 3-2 vote after Councilmembers Lamar Thorpe, Joy Motts and Monica Wilson had concerns over the property owners handling of blight and fines over the past five years. Meanwhile, Mayor Sean Wright and Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock called it an opportunity to clean up a blighted area in town and begin the redevelopment of an area desperately in need.
In 2019, the Antioch City Council approved funding for Saint Mary’s College to develop a Somersville Economic Development Plan – which the city has done nothing with.
Since 2019, the City of Antioch has also worked with an advertising company to rebrand the city as “Opportunity Lives Here” and have spent nearly a million dollars of trying to brand itself to the bay area and outside markets.
Tim McCall, an Antioch Economic Development Commissioner speaks during Tuesdays Council Meeting
Meanwhile, the Antioch Economic Development Commission is on hiatus and has not met since December 2021 due to a lack of quorum and the mayor not appointing new members to serve. In March of 2023, the council opted to “re-imagine” the commission and Mayor Lamar Thorpe said it was a deliberate decision not to appoint while Director Kwame Reed stated the commission was underutilized.
10 comments
Kwame Reed is not qualified to be economic development director and he is serving as city manager? This city needs some serious change.
This list makes me both mad and sad. We have lost some great businesses over the last few years. I don’t think its entirely all the council’s fault but they sure caused a lot of this minus the pandemic. I would never go to Antioch to open a business unless the rent is darn cheap
Thank the leaders of Contra Costa County who shut everything down. But wait Karen Mitchoff is going to try a come back and run for Glaziers spot….And voters will vote for her again like sheep. Go back and see what they did to businesses.
Kingdom of arrogance is reaping what it has sown.
Years of poor decisions and bad advice to city councils.
Antioch is a pitiful shell of what it was in 1970s and 1980s.
what’s the problem?? you people don’t read anyway, maybe a new taco stand will open up there.
Homelessness and crime are driving business out of Antioch. Our feckless mayor eluded to this when we lost Amtrak in Antioch. Who wants to shop in stores in Slaten Ranch? Homeless camps back up to the stores, and vagrants are often seen wandering through the parking lots. Look at JC Penney. Vagrants camped in their parking lot in RV’S and in the bushes at their entrances. East Antioch creek is loaded with vagrant camps. At night you can see fires burning from the bypass and cars and trucks can be seen dropping off stuff to the encampments. Ask your Council zone representative why Brentwood, Oakley and Pittsburg don’t have the vagrant population Antioch does. Money says you won’t get a suitable answer. Why? Because our Council majority wants this. FOOS
This is the list of spectacular failures by our city leaders, and it’s outrageous. When will voters say ENOUGH!
My point here is not everything can be blamed on the city; if you continue to point fingers a them then you are weak-minded. A lot of these businesses failed due to their own accord and the cost of doing business in general. A shift in online shopping and food delivery options also had an impact on both large and small businesses. Could the Antioch gov have done a better job to support them? YES! I do believe that, however with rapid change comes greater responsibility, and look how much Antioch has grown in population. The demand to keep up with the rapid building of homes and a shift in demographics has never been greater than today.
Who?What? = Poor marketing.
America’s Tire (Delta Fair) – Very bad location to compete with Costco; they could have made it too; think Firestone.
Antioch Coin Shop (2nd Street) – Who? What? Poor marketing.
Antioch Golf N Games – Failed to adapt to changes in the entertainment sector.
AMC Cinemas (Deer Valley)- One of the worse ran Movie Theaters in the area; have yall been there? It was a free for all in those auditoriums.
AMTRAK Station is moving to Oakley – Yeah, city is to blame for this one no doubt (being serious).
Babe Ruth Little League – failed to compete against other appealing leagues in the area and no upkeep in the park.
Bases Loaded Restaurant – Yeah let’s blame the city for a poorly modeled restaurant. This place failed in creativity.
Bed Bath & Beyond – bankruptcy – Antioch’s fault for sure (sarcasm).
Big Lots – This place thrived in the early 2000s and mid-2000s but a shift to online retail and changing consumer demographics could not help this place; not including the hazardous location it found itself in.
Burger King (E 18th) – Ate there all the time; no upkeep or investment so no surprise to see the franchise owner close it down; shame because it is in a prime location with lots of competitors and where it could have competed.
BJ’s Brewhouse – who? what? Never heard of it. Poor marketing.
Chelsea’s Sushi (2nd St) – Who? What? Never heard of it. Poor marketing. If the Chinese restaurant in the area can be open today does that not tell you something?
Chill Coffee (Waldie Plaza) – Who? What? Was this an experiment location? Went there once; lame experience and expensive. Partly the city’s fault however due to its prime location.
Chop Suey – one man, the legend. I think this was for personal reasons. That plaza seldom has issues. Okay food, great value for the price!
Cost Plus/World Market – Who? What? This store is a hit-and-miss. I believed they closed the Concord one too and Tracy store might still be open.
Four Legs Brewing (Antioch location) – Who? What? Poor marketing.
Jerry’s Hot Dog – Beloved place; I believe they moved to Brentwood. The city did mess up on this one but you cant blame the owner for moving due to the change in the environment.
KMART – Yeah let’s blame Antioch (sarcasm). How many Kmarts exists today?
Limitless Kitchen and Bath – Who? What?
Michael Pohl Photography – Who? What?
Mimi’s Cafe – Average service, expensive, mediocre food at a prime location; they did it to themselves.
Paintball Park – Not sure what happened here.
Red Caboose (after a fire) – I think there is a serial arsonist in Antioch but it does blow that this site caught on fire.
Rivertown Sweets – prime location; seems to have been a more personal decision; could have done better with marketing yet did great with word of mouth; tasty treats they had !
Salvation Army – Not sure what happened here….
Snow Shack – This was shocking tbh.
Southern Cafe – Who? What?
Staples – Let me hear you say AMAZONNNNN…
Straw Hat Pizza – The place to be back in the day. The environment has changed for sure.
Starbucks (A St & 18th) – Blame COVID-19 for this; business decision.
Vineyards Driving Range – Bad business model and poor inconsistent execution; I wish they would have stayed open.
Okay so Antioch may not be responsible for all business closures but what have they done to promote the City as a welcoming place for business? I’ll wait.
I can’t believe Antiochs slogan is “Opportunity Lives Here” , how can anybody say this without laughing.
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