After months of preparation, a second Barnes & Noble location has opened in Fresno, after announcing its arrival on social media on July 22.
The store opened its doors at Fashion Fair Mall on East Shaw Avenue. The store sits across from Sephora, in the space once occupied by Morphe Cosmetics.
“Fashion Fair Mall has been a community staple and shopping destination for over 50 years, and we are very pleased to join them,” said James Daunt, CEO of Barnes & Noble in a media statement.
The store welcomed a crowd of customers inside just before 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
“We’ve been working away for the past couple months,” said senior bookseller Joshua Bailey. “The last week, we pulled it all together. We weren’t sure for a while if we were gonna be able to open before the holidays, but we made it happen.”
Located just seven minutes from Fresno State, the space features all the traditional Barnes & Noble genres, sections and book-lover amenities, just in smaller quantities.
“We definitely have to have a little bit of everything, and we have to make sure that we have popular quantities,” said bookseller Alexis Gonzalez. “So it’s a whole lot of picking and choosing.”
Although the store is smaller than the Villaggio Shopping Center location, the store employees are excited.
Gonzalez, a three-year Barnes & Noble employee, says the store has everything ready to go, and online ordering will be available for whatever the store may not have in person.
“So it might not be here in the moment, but you definitely could get it shipped to home or here within like three days,” Gonzalez said.
On May 12, Barnes & Noble closed its Merced location with the hopes of finding a new, smaller space.
“Talking to the local manager, Barnes & Noble wants to stay in Merced,” said Merced City Council Member Sarah Boyle in an interview with the Merced Sun-Star. “What I’ve been told is they still want to be in the Merced market. They never wanted to close. They have to find another, smaller location that suits them.”
The new store’s staff consists of both new hires and employee transfers from other Barnes & Noble locations.
Past employees of the Merced location, Rebecca Summers and Judy Omlin, said they are thrilled to show their support for the new store location.
“We’re super excited,” Summers said. “We used to go to the Merced store a lot, and we used to work there, actually, so we’re really excited for this opening here at the mall.”
Summers also shared her favorite book genres.
“Oh, I like manga,” Summers said. “I read manga a lot, but also fantasy.”
Omlin said the opening was significant and that she is happy to cheer on her previous colleagues.
“We, all three of us, used to work at Barnes & Noble, actually, and the manager is our old assistant manager,” Omlin said. “That’s why we came out. That’s why we’re supporting but I think it’s great. It’s nice to have two because Fresno’s so big, now that Merced’s is closed, now they have another opening.”
The store will be open during regular Fashion Fair hours from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Sundays.
Individuals can stay up to date with the store activities on its Instagram.
