City losing one of its Barnes and Noble stores but is getting new gourmet cookie shop
Say it ain’t so.
It was unusual — and really too good to be true — having two Barnes and Noble bookstores in the same town, but no more.
The larger and longerserving of the popular booksellers — the Rochester Road location, near Auburn Road — will close its doors for the last time on Sunday, Feb. 12, having served the area for more than a quarter century.
This location had been just down the road from the Borders bookstore before that franchise folded nearly a dozen years ago.
Along with the many bookshelves, this Barnes and Noble location featured a large area for used books, children’s books, a cafe, featured gifts, and a separate area for music and movies, which had diminished in recent years due to the rise of streaming services.
For years, the store was a great spot to try out new authors from the used books, to find unique gifts for holidays and birthdays, and to get the pricey large box sets of music made a bit affordable with the regular coupons available to members shoppers.
But, of course, the joy of searching book aisles for something new is not going away, as another Barnes and Noble bookstore opened nearly four years ago at the Village of Rochester Hills, about six miles away at Walton Boulevard and Adams Road.
At the time, it was described as a “prototype” bookstore, smaller, brighter, more displays. It features a cafe (with the regular coupons for discounted treats with every receipt), music in form of vinyl records, gifts, and the same sections.
The older, larger store has been busy, reminiscent of Christmas shopping season with a packed parking lot on weekends, as shoppers splurge on 40 percent discounts, with many likely using gift cards. At one point this past weekend, a line snaked through the store, more than 75 shoppers deep. Some people were buying tables and bookshelves.
But while the city’s residents may have to drive further for a Barnes and Noble, even if for a cup of Starbucks coffee and a cookie or muffin, they do have another option for a gourmet dessert — additionally valuable if you crave a treat late at night.
A storefront at Walton and Livernois, across from Ascension Providence Rochester Hospital, promises the opening of an Insomnia Cookies.
They join the popular Crumbl Cookies, which is located at the Hampton Village Center at Rochester Road just north of Auburn Road — near the old Barnes and Noble.
The Insomnia Cookies will be located only about four miles away. The company started in New York and Philadelphia and is known for being open and even delivering until 3 a.m. daily.
The company already has eight stores in Michigan, including Mt. Pleasant (where a Crumbl just opened), Ypsilanti, Grand Rapids, East Lansing, Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, Allendale, and on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit.
Planning to open in the spring of 2023, the new bakery is already hiring for shift leaders, cookie crew, and delivery drivers.
Though the city is losing a beloved bookstore, there may be a gourmet cookie war on the horizon.