Thursday marks the last day of operation for a Barnes and Noble bookstore located in Bayside’s Bay Terrace Shopping Center, according to employees of the beloved franchise.
The store will shut its doors for the last time at 6 p.m.
Representatives of property owner Cord Meyer Development have said that a HomeGoods store will take over the site not long after the book dealer departs.
Although Cord Meyer reps have said that Barnes & Noble decided not to exercise the option to renew the lease despite repeated attempts at securing a long-term contract, representatives from the bookstore have blamed the shopping center for the store’s closing, alleging that the property owner chose HomeGoods because that company is willing to pay far higher rents.
The community attempted to fight the store’s closing upon the initial September announcement. An online petition against closing the store gained more than 3,200 signatures, and a Facebook page with similar intentions gained more than 4,000 followers.
The only other Barnes and Noble bookstore in Queens is also slated to close down Thursday in Forest Hills, with a small Target department store set to take its place in 2016.
