This past weekend I received a rumor, which I was told came from a fairly reliable media source, that Books-A-Million may take over the space in Peabody Place Mall formerly occupied by Tower Records.
There are currently no Memphis Books-A-Million stores (there’s one in Southaven) but I’ve been to the Little Rock location before. They typically have racks and racks of closeout books at deep discounts, and they also carry the current bestsellers. I’ve never known Books-A-Million to have in-store cafes in their locations, which is something I’d really like to see… but then again, with Starbucks right upstairs, an in-store cafe might be redundant at Peabody Place.
I hope this one is actually true… I’ve said for years that one of the key things downtown is missing is a large-scale book retailer that is open evenings and weekends. This is one of the remaining pieces of the puzzle involved in turning downtown into a real neighborhood.