STATEN ISLAND, NY – The Staten Island Advance got an exclusive sneak peek tour inside the new Barnes & Noble store opening in the Staten Island Mall on Tuesday.
The former Barnes & Noble store on Richmond Avenue in New Springville closed its doors on Monday. And the new store will open Tuesday in its new Staten Island Mall location at 10 a.m. with the complete staff from the former store, said Kelly Modzelewski, store manager.
“We are thrilled to continue to serve the Staten Island community by launching a new prototype store at Staten Island Mall,” said Carl Hauch, vice president, stores, Barnes & Noble.
“This new prototype is part of our ongoing testing of new store concepts across the country, and will offer a clean, contemporary new design that is easy to shop and friendly to our customers. It will feature a full assortment of books at its core, with an amazing selection of educational toys and games, family games and puzzles and curated gift items for avid reader," he added.
NEW STORE FEATURES
The 20,114-square-foot store features modern design aesthetics, including oak bookshelves and wood grain tile floors. Lower profile bookshelves provide customers with a panoramic view of the store, contributing to an open and airy feel. Two large “book theaters” invite customers to discover books in a new 360-degree experience. Illuminated bookcases are incorporated into the store, including the fiction section, to further enhance discovery.
The children’s section includes a dedicated LEGO activity table with brightly colored bricks in red and yellow. The children’s section also includes a whimsical “jungle gym."
From community seating around a table to individual comfortable chairs, customers have a variety of seating options throughout the store.
The Café at Barnes & Noble Staten Island offers a wide selection of Starbucks coffees and teas, in addition to fresh-baked goods, sandwiches, flat breads, quiches and a soup of the day. Healthy grab-and-go snacks are also available. Customers can choose to sit at a community worktable featuring easily accessible USB/AC outlets.
Self-serve kiosks will enable customers to research, discover and locate books throughout the store.
Barnes & Noble Staten Island will host events, from book fairs for local schools to book-signings and story-times. A 700-square-foot flexible event space will be used for author events and book signings.
The new store is part of the Mall’s 242,000-square-foot expansion that includes a new AMC Movie Theater, a host of new restaurants and an array of new retailers.