This is the 681st most frequent Czech word.
nedávno
"Recently" or "not long ago."
In this sentence, "nedávno" is used to indicate that the action (reading the book) happened a relatively short time ago from the present moment.
Nedávno jsem četl zajímavou knihu.
Recently, I read an interesting book.
Here, "nedávno" specifies the time frame during which the opening of the shop occurred, emphasizing its recency.
Nedávno otevřeli nový obchod v naší ulici.
They recently opened a new shop on our street.
In this context, "nedávno" conveys that the meeting with Jan took place not long ago from the narrator's current perspective.