Paramus Barnes & Noble plans Nov. 24 start date

Barnes & Noble in Paramus officially has an opening date for its new location.

The bookseller will open its doors on Black Friday, Nov. 24, at 634 Route 17 North, eight months after closing its former location after 30 years at another spot just up the highway. Joseph Simmons – DJ Run from Run-DMC – and author and Ridgewood resident Harlan Coben will cut the ribbon at 9 a.m.

Janine Flanigan, the chain’s senior director of store planning & design, confirmed the date in an interview Tuesday. At 35,000 square feet, the one-story space will be comparable to the two-story building that Barnes & Noble had called home a mile to the north on Route 17, Flanigan said.

The new store will have a café and other departments similar to the old store, including a large kids section and a toys and games department, she said.

The former Barnes & Noble closed its doors in March. The nonprofit New Concepts for Living announced plans to take over the space and build a stateof-the-art “achievement center” for adults with disabilities. The new bookstore is taking over the site of a former Big Lots! and Toys R Us.

The store also announced the news on its Facebook page, where it posted photos of the new location under construction.

There are plans to have a used book department in the new store, just as the old Barnes & Noble had, but it may not be ready at launch, said Flanigan. She anticipated that the section will be ready by the start of the new year.

Unlike the old store, the new location won’t have a music department, but it will have an entertainment department with a vinyl selection.

The layout of the store also will be different, with Flanigan describing it as “light and airy.” The new venue will include “book nooks” throughout the store, which will connect with one another in what she described as an almost maze-like fashion. The flow of the store is designed to lead customers to sections for other topics that may interest them.

After the Nov. 24 opening, the store plans to offer different events throughout the weekend, including some with local authors, said Flanigan.

At 35,000 square feet, the new one-story Barnes & Noble will be comparable to its former home, a two-story building a mile north on Route 17.

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY BARNES & NOBLE The Paramus store will open eight months after Barnes & Noble closed its former location, a popular spot on Route 17 for 30 years.