They may not have made Black Friday, but at least Barnes & Noble is unveiling its store in the Bridgehampton Commons, in the corner over by Petco, Friday, in time for the in-the-black month of December. The doors open at noon for holiday shopping and general perusing of books, records, and gift items.
It was one of three of the bookseller's stores to have opened this week nationally, one of 10 in the last month, and among 30 in 2023, with 50 planned for 2024, according to a release. There must be something to tactile, in-person browsing, after all.
"Just two years ago the nearest Barnes & Noble was over 50 miles from Bridgehampton," James Daunt, the company's C.E.O., said in the release. "With the opening of our Riverhead bookstore last year, we cut that down to 25 miles. Now it is our great pleasure to bring Bridgehampton a Barnes & Noble of their own."
Also of local note, Barnes & Noble's former C.E.O., Leonard Riggio, who bought a failing bookshop in Manhattan in the early 1970s and built the company into a major American retailer, lives in Bridgehampton.
