Yay books!

Breaking news from fellow blogger and book nerd Risa:

Dallas - well, the metroplex - is about to get a new independent bookstore. Legacy Books, located in The Shops at Legacy in Plano, will be the largest independent bookstore built in the US in years - 24,000 sf of book-reading fun.

"All you hear about is independent bookstores going under," said Teri Tanner, managing partner of Legacy Books. "Well, we are opening one."

Ms. Tanner – a Tyler native whose retail experience includes both big nationwide book chains – was working with Borders a few years ago when it considered a location at the Shops at Legacy.

Borders ultimately decided not to do the deal, but Ms. Tanner couldn't get the site out of her mind.

"This is a great niche location in Plano," she said. "The demographics are great, and this is a place where people like to hang out."

****

Legacy Books plans to offer the expected magazines, books and coffee bar, plus an area for cooking demonstrations and a separate Wi-Fi bar.

The store, now under construction, will be done in a modern style designed by Dallas architect Morrison Seifert Murphy, which also did the new One Arts Plaza tower in downtown's Arts District.

The interior plans show an open space with floating staircases, bright-colored fixtures and large windows.

****

"We're planning on having 100,000 titles," [Ms. Tanner] said.

Avin Mark Domnitz, chief executive of the American Booksellers Association, said while other independents are opening around the country, Legacy Books is the largest in memory.

It's set to open in "late summer." I'm thinking a fieldtrip will be in order. Here's the whole story.