last remaining book store in downtown Bellevue area slated for demolition. (Seattle: apartments, buyers)

[travis t]

I walked by the Barnes & Noble store on 106th just south of NE 8th St., and it had a large white 'proposed land use action' placard. It said they will tear it down and build 3 600 foot towers, 2 residential and 1 office. Also torn down will be the 'Doxa' church next door, which used to be a large furniture store.

This is the last remaining book store in the area. There used to be a University Bookstore across the street from Bellevue Square Mall. At one time there was also a Borders book store in the mall, but that chain went belly-up some years ago.

There still is the 'Corner Book Store' at the Bellevue public library on NE 12th St. and 110th Ave. I'd call this the outskirts of downtown Bellevue. You can find gems there for 1 or 2 dollars. I bought there the biography of John Adams by David McCoullough, which I have read and reread.

[thatguy950]

Not surprising, I think 90% of the businesses in Bellevue are being removed to make room for ugly block apartments for foreign buyers

[Ruth4Truth]

Bellevue still has a Barnes & Noble? I thought B & N folded years ago. Quite a few of their stores nationwide closed, so I thought the company had folded, due to competition from Amazon.

Does anywhere on the East side have an independent bookstore? Seattle's Elliott Bay Bookstore is still going strong, as is the UW Bookstore in the U District. Of course the latter is sustained by its textbook department, but that's only a small fraction of its inventory.

[elkotronics]

We have a Barnes and Noble bookstore at the Mesilla Valley Mall in Las Cruces. I really like that book store and I hope it doesn't go out of business.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Bellevue still has a Barnes & Noble? I thought B & N folded years ago. Quite a few of their stores nationwide closed, so I thought the company had folded, due to competition from Amazon.

Does anywhere on the East side have an independent bookstore? Seattle's Elliott Bay Bookstore is still going strong, as is the UW Bookstore in the U District. Of course the latter is sustained by its textbook department, but that's only a small fraction of its inventory.

The Barnes & Noble in Issaquah (Pickering Place near the theater) is still open. Last time I went by the Half Price Books on Leary in Redmond was still open for business as is the one at Crossroads in Bellevue. As for independents, try BookTree in Kirkland on Market. I have not been in that area for ages but it may still be there.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

The Barnes & Noble in Issaquah (Pickering Place near the theater) is still open. Last time I went by the Half Price Books on Leary in Redmond was still open for business as is the one at Crossroads in Bellevue. As for independents, try BookTree in Kirkland on Market. I have not been in that area for ages but it may still be there.

The one thing I liked about Barnes & Noble, is that they had a coffee bar area built into the store. Great idea, for meeting people at the bookstore and having fun browsing together.

[elkotronics]

The one thing I liked about Barnes & Noble, is that they had a coffee bar area built into the store. Great idea, for meeting people at the bookstore and having fun browsing together.


Right on, Ruth4Truth. I like that about Barnes & Noble, too. You can grab a magazine or a book and have a seat and read till your hearts content. Then, if you're really digging the books and magazines and you're reading so much you're making yourself tired, you can step up and buy a nice, strong coffee.

That is very cool. This amazon.com world is nonsense. Bring back the brick and mortar malls.

[thatguy950]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

The one thing I liked about Barnes & Noble, is that they had a coffee bar area built into the store. Great idea, for meeting people at the bookstore and having fun browsing together.

Yeah I always loved B&N

[Thx-1138]

Originally Posted by elkotronics

The one thing I liked about Barnes & Noble, is that they had a coffee bar area built into the store. Great idea, for meeting people at the bookstore and having fun browsing together.


Right on, Ruth4Truth. I like that about Barnes & Noble, too. You can grab a magazine or a book and have a seat and read till your hearts content. Then, if you're really digging the books and magazines and you're reading so much you're making yourself tired, you can step up and buy a nice, strong coffee.

That is very cool. This amazon.com world is nonsense. Bring back the brick and mortar malls.

I don't like seeing the decline of brick and mortar either, but for instance last summer I was in a Walmart trying to buy an evaporative room cooler.


It's a giant store, they have several aisles devoted to air conditioning...


There are maybe a half-dozen units on the website...


Yet, I go in there and the aisles are half-filled with mostly replacement filters.


They had one type of unit in the store that cost more than I was willing to pay for it. ($288, I'm looking at $160 ones rated higher on the site.)


I ask where they are hiding the other units, they look around and say that's that.


"Why, why, why do I come all the way to this store for nothing? I'm so tired of that, I'm going all online from now on!" I say to the salesclerk, she says "Yes, I know." and I walk off empty-handed, burned again.


You walk into a store and wonder if anyone works there... "Is this self-serve?" you say into the ether.


I have been trying to buy a new winter coat and a pair of comfortable walking shoes for some time now and I'm going to have to order those online.


I can only sympathize with these stores so much, I'm not going to buy something I don't want for it.


And most often free delivery, I can cope with that!


Thx

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by thatguy950

Yeah I always loved B&N

For those of you who like to nosh with your new books, try the Honeybear Bakery in Lake Forest Park. It's located in something like a back corner of a book store or book mall (I don't know the name of the book venue). The Honeybear, when it was located near Greenlake in Seattle long ago, was THE place to hang out for singles, for bakery aficionados, for anyone looking for cozy shelter on a misty Seattle day. It was a runaway phenom! Now it's a scaled-down version of its old self, no longer offering lunch-ish stuff (homemade soup, sandwich) with the superb pies, cakes & other goodies, but people still love the bakery items and coffee.

Perhaps off-topic for this east side thread, but Lake Forest Park is "almost" the east side, isn't it?

https://www.honeybearbakery.com