Cary’s relocated Barnes & Noble opens with ‘gaggles’ of customers, new layout and café
The doors of a new and improved Barnes & Noble bookstore officially opened in Cary’s Shoppes at Kildaire Wednesday, welcoming dozens of book lovers lined up outside, eager to enter.
After operating on SE Maynard Road for 28 years, the bookseller announced plans to relocate earlier this year with a blowout sale for months before officially closing in late June.
By afternoon on opening day, the store saw “gaggles” of customers, manager Jennifer Curtis said.
“This morning, there were about 150-plus people lined up at the door, all around the building,” she said. “We opened to a very enthusiastic group, and then it’s just been a steady stream of super-excited readers.”
Located at 1311 Kildaire Farm Road, the new 27,000-square-foot Barnes & Noble is surrounded by other busy stores in the Shoppes at Kildaire, including Trader Joe’s, Staples, City BBQ and Aldi.
Barnes & Noble moved into the former Fitness Connection.
On Wednesday, Kennedy Ryan, author of “The Kingmaker,” helped open the store with a ribbon cutting. Other authors included Reese Ryan, Sarah Grunder Ruiz, Libby Hubscher and Samantha Chase.
Big store, intimate feel
Inside the redesigned Barnes & Noble, customers are greeted by walls of hard-cover fiction and non-fiction books and tables filled with books hand-picked by the staff.
“Our new stores are very light and airy. We create the book rooms so that even though the store is large, even though the ceiling is high, it still feels that you’re enveloped in a book,” Curtis said. “I think it speaks to readers to be able to feel safe and secure looking at a book.”
Customers can easily find genres, toys, games, collections, travel pamphlets, household items, or journals, with each section marked with bold white letters and overhead lighting. Harry Potter even has a section to himself near the LEGO shelf.
There are chairs to sit and read, large windows, and a Starbucks cafe selling custom drinks, Red Bull and pastries.
Aisha Ansari, a Cary resident, was browsing for a baby shower. She had been a frequent customer at the former Barnes & Noble location for nearly 20 years.
“Everything is different, but I think the lighting is really impactful,” Ansari said, pointing to the lights above the book section. “The last store was really open, and this store feels really cozy. I like that.”
A new chapter
Throughout the year, there will be events to engage and invite more readers to the store. This includes four book clubs a month, two story time readings a week for all ages, and local author pop-ups.
There will also be the occasional groups coming in to play the tile game Mahjong on the tables, Curtis said.
“There’s over 300 years of book-selling experience here in this building. We have a book seller that’s been with Barnes & Noble for 30 years, I’ve been here 25, so we know how to find a good title for you,” Curtis said. “To me, you can’t train 300 years of book knowledge. I’m very proud of that.”
Ralph Waldvogel, an Apex resident, said he came into the store to browse the sections.
“I love it. I’m still getting used to it, I haven’t been all around,” Waldvogel said. “I really miss the old store, though. I’ve been going there since we moved here in 2017.”
Closing a bookstore after 28 years was bittersweet, Curtis said.
“There are so many memories and so much love put into that store,” she said. “I wanted to reassure folks right from the get-go the booksellers have already put so much love and created memories just opening the building and filling the shelves. This building has already got so much love in it. It’s going to be a good chapter.”
