THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 11, 1994 TAG: 9411100180
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
The setting seems perfect. Soft music plays overhead. The room is spacious but not cavernous, no small feat when it's remembered the building once was a hardware superstore.
Easy chairs are tucked away in quiet reading corners, and cushy carpet abounds. Best of all, there's a small cafe set off smartly with a hardwood floor where bibliophiles can settle back with a new book or magazine, order up a cup of java and a pastry, and peruse their selection.
Jihyun K. Hong and Linda C. Oh seemed perfectly happy with this setting on their first visit last week to the new Barnes & Noble bookstore, the latest addition to the city's Central Business District.
With a three-day grand opening set for today through Sunday, the new mega bookstore, perched on the southeast corner of Independence and Virginia Beach boulevards, hopes the home-spun amenities are the keys to success.
``We were just passing by when we saw the store and thought we'd stop in and look,'' said Oh, a resident of Norfolk's Ghent who sat with her friend in the store's cafe section.
``Yeah, we've seen a lot of books that we've never seen before,'' Hong added. ``We think this is great. We've been waiting for this to open.''
They talked while their two children, Justine Hong, 2 1/2, and Christine Oh, 2, romped about, sending up childish screams and cheers.
Both Hong and Oh are avid readers, but on this trip they picked up some children's books, including two by author Eric Carle called ``The Secret Birthday Message'' and ``The Grouchy Ladybug.''
Sitting nearby was Beth LaSalle, a fan of Tom Clancy's techno thriller novels, and her husband, Jim, a Coast Guard boatswain's mate with a taste for Patricia Cornwell mysteries.
The Wesleyan Chase residents were taking a moment to browse the store when they pulled up for a quick refreshment.
``It's my first time to this store,'' she said. ``Barnes & Noble has one of the best selections you could imagine. My family is full of read-aholics.''
Not only that, but LaSalle said she loves to cook and was especially complimentary of the store's selection of cookbooks.
Such experiences are what the owners of Barnes & Noble hope will become commonplace as the reputation spreads that the store is now open. The store has more than 100,000 titles on just about every common subject. And some not so common.
Jim LaSalle said he was happy when he found a couple of titles he never expected: ``Practical Seamanship'' and ``Practical Navigation.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos by PETER D. SUNDBERG
Beth LaSalle peruses one of more than 100,000 titles in stock. She
was especially complimentary of the store's selection of cookbooks.
RIGHT: A customer helps himself to some sugar and cream in a small
cafe, where bibliophiles can settle back with a new book or
magazine, order up a cup of java and a pastry, and peruse their
selection.
LEFT: Jihyun K. Hong, left, and Linda C. Oh seem perfectly happy
with this setting on their first visit to new Barnes and Noble
bookstore last week.
by CNB