West Seattle Blog reports that the Barnes & Noble store in West Seattle is set to close in January. This isn't much of a surprise to people who live in the area: Barnes & Noble is going through a serious downturn and is reassessing all its locations, and the Westwood Village outdoor mall has been plagued with empty spaces for quite some time now.

Still, it's sad that the largest bookstore in West Seattle is shutting down. West Seattleites can still visit the Pegasus Book Exchange, a great used bookstore in the Junction. But as Seattle's traffic woes continue to increase, and as the city prepares to tear the Alaskan Way Viaduct down, West Seattle needs to be more self-sustaining. And every self-sustaining neighborhood neeeds its own bookstore.

West Seattle could absolutely support its own neighborhood bookstore/restaurant combination — something like Ada's Technical Books, or the Third Place Books outposts in Ravenna and Seward Park. (It's worth noting that Third Place Books strongly considered West Seattle as a third location before choosing Seward Park for its latest store.) If you've ever dreamed of opening your own bookstore, I'd say West Seattle is primed and ready for a lively community hub with new books, restaurant, and a full slate of readings and book clubs.