Book lovers rejoice, Barnes & Noble has arrived
-
Barnes & Noble store manager James Lafferty and business development manager Amanda Goodwin were on hand to welcome residents. - Photos by Tammy Cheek
-
Author Holly Renee signs her books as part of the grand opening. - Photos by Tammy Cheek
Book lovers checked out Pinnacle at Turkey Creek’s new Barnes & Noble, which opened at 11334 Parkside Drive, Tuesday, Oct. 7.
“We’re so excited,” store manager James Lafferty said. “We had such an amazing crowd outside. More people than we could have ever expected.
“We’re lucky enough to have (author) Holly (Renee) here,” he said. “We’re just excited to be part of the community here in Farragut and Turkey Creek to bring more books to everybody.
The store is a little more than 1,400 square feet.
“It’s a little bit smaller than our other store (on Kingston Pike), but we’ve got a lot packed in here for everybody,” said Lafferty, who has been with the company for about six years.
“I was with the other store on Kingston Pike first, and I had the opportunity to work in a new store,” he said. “It’s an experience I hadn’t had with this company yet, so I was super excited.
“Plus, Turkey Creek, you can’t go wrong,” Lafferty said. “It’s always going to be busy here. There’s always going to be people here, so it would have been silly not to make the move.”
“In general, Barnes & Noble is growing,” B&N business development manager Amanda Goodwin said. “There is a huge demand for books, physical books. People want to read, especially in Knoxville, so when the opportunity presented itself for the whole company to start opening other stores and expanding, we were absolutely on the top of the list.
“We want another location,” she said. “Come to Knoxville, so we were lucky enough that this space opened up and we could add another location.”
And, she said the company is continuing to look for other locations to get out in the community and have that blueprint where we haven’t already been.”
“Barnes & Noble is looking at opening 100 stores or more every year,” Lafferty said.
They said the Barnes & Noble on Kingston Pike in Knoxville will continue to be open.
“It’s almost 30 years old, which is hard to believe,” Goodwin said. “That store is staying strong in that community. We’re not going to move it.
“In the last few years, it’s gone through some major overhauls,” she said. “We remodeled; we redesigned; we moved everything a couple times in the store … we’re going to be in two places in Knoxville.
“It gives us the opportunity to support every part of the Knoxville community, from one end to the other,” Lafferty said.
Walking into the store, one will find more than just books.
“We have media items — CDs, vinyl (records), movies,” he said. “We have magazines. We have tons of toys and games for all the kiddos, Legos, any kind of gift items.
“So, this is going to be your No. 1 stop for everything Christmas and holiday shopping.”
The store also has a B&N café, with coffee and treats, and it accepts Barnes & Noble gift cards.
“You can really treat yourself,” Goodwin said.
