News

Barnes & Noble debuts food, drinks to engage book lovers

November 30, 2016

Not only can you browse thousands of books at the Edina, Minnesota-based Barnes & Noble, you can now also grab a meal and a drink as part of the shopping experience.

The bookseller opened the new concept in the Galleria this week with one goal: to keep book lovers in the bookstore longer with the ultimate goal of buying more books, according to a Star Tribune report.

"It's clear the community wants retail-tainment," David Deason, vice president of development for Barnes & Noble, told the Star Tribune. "It's more conversational and more customer-focused."

The new 21, 500-square-foot store, is a refresh of the book seller's initial presence and includes a 100-seat restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. It originally operated a 38,000-square-foot site. The focus is on customer engagement and drawing more foot traffic into the casual seating environment.

Barnes & Noble is in test mode with four of the new concept locations and at least two more planned soon, according to the Star Tribune.