Nearly a year after closing its original Old Orchard location, Barnes & Noble has reopened its doors in a new storefront at the mall. The new location follows the company’s recent redesign of the store, much more modern, and frankly, much more disappointingly plain. 

Last December, Old Orchard closed its Barnes & Noble store after 27 years of business due to the building being “very dated”, according to Barnes and Noble CEO James Daunt. Many were shocked by this announcement, as it came out of seemingly nowhere. Niles North students were especially outraged because the Barnes & Noble Cafe was a busy hangout spot for studying and spending time with friends. 

This past August, signs for the new Barnes & Noble appeared in the windows of the old furniture store next to Cheesecake Factory. As someone who was very upset by the closing of the original store, this excited me and all my friends because we would finally be able to study and hang out somewhere after school. However, I ended up being extremely unsatisfied with the layout of the store. 

The new design of the next generation of Barnes & Noble stores is so modern it’s almost industrial. It’s just so boring. When you walk in, the light wood shelving and letters over the books under the fluorescent lighting is headache-inducing. The layout of the store is a maze, which makes it difficult to navigate through the store. The covers of the majority of the books are facing out, allowing fewer books to be displayed and creating an eyesore.

Though the old location was pretty musty, that’s just the character that came with the store. I remember going to the store when I was young and picking up a book and reading the whole thing underneath the wooden tree on the stage in the Children’s Section. It’s sad to think that we’ll most likely never see that again. This new store is just another example of how modern-era design continues to lose flare and creativity to fit recent trends. 

Additionally, there’s also no Starbucks in the store. The old location’s cafe used to be the best spot for studying, but now there’s just an awkward little hallway with a few benches. It’s almost like they knew people would want a spot to sit down, but had no room left. 

Many other students were upset with the new design as well. Sophomore Lindsey Klaus used to go to the old Barnes & Noble with her friends and was disappointed by many aspects of the new store.

“The main thing is that it doesn’t have a lot of seating– the old Starbucks is gone, and there isn’t space to sit and study…” Klaus said. “I feel like the old one was just so nostalgic and warm and homey in the old building… It’s just not the same feeling that the old [store] gave.”

Although there are a lot of negative things to say about the design of the store, it’s nice that there’s a Barnes & Noble near the school to walk around and browse books. I missed being able to go there and spend time with friends. They have a wide selection of books and a nice paper store downstairs. 

All in all, the new Barnes & Noble is nice and clean, and I’m glad it’s back. It’s worth the trip but not necessarily worth the built-up hype. I’ll always miss that wooden tree in the children’s section.