Barnes & Noble announced Monday it would officially return to the Upper East Side in less than two months, meeting the July grand opening timeline first reported by Upper East Site in March and missing the original, planned opening this spring. Plus, we’re also getting a first look inside the new space.
Construction is still underway at 1550 Third Avenue, between East 87th and 88th Street, across from Whole Foods Market.
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However, the long-awaited and highly-anticipated new bookstore will open to customers at 10:00 am on Wednesday, July 12th, the company announced Monday.
We’re also getting a first look inside the new Upper East Side bookstore thanks to images posted on social media by Barnes and Noble, showing a tastefully designed interior with white and natural wood shelving lining the walls and the floor covered in grey carpet.
Upper East Site readers spotted crews assembling bookshelves inside Barnes & Noble’s 8,000 square space on the ground floor of the Agora Building last week, formerly home to a Duane Reade pharmacy that closed in 2020.
Roughly one-sixth the size of the massive underground Barnes & Noble bookstore that occupied two underground levels at 150 East 86th Street, now home to Target, the new store will be a slimmed-down shopping experience, like its new store that opened in Brooklyn last year.
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Photos of that store shared with Upper East Site show a minimalist design emphasizing rows of literature, as well as small sections featuring greeting cards and vinyl records, which have made an enormous comeback, outselling CDs last year for the first time in 35 years.
One thing is for sure; there will be no cafe or Starbucks inside the new Upper East Side Barnes & Noble store, according to a spokesperson.
In addition to needing the retail space for books, there is also a standalone Starbucks directly across East 87th Street.
