Barnes & Noble opens in Rehoboth Beach

REHOBOTH BEACH — Barnes & Noble opened its fourth store in Delaware on Wednesday with a ribbon cutting at the Seaside Tanger Outlets.

The store, at 36508 Seaside Outlet Drive, Suite 1100, sells books, vinyls, board games and more. It is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays.

Store manager Tina Kayser said it has been a journey.

“It was probably the most unique thing I’ve ever experienced, especially with the bookstore. They set all the fixtures the bays, and we came in, got the keys, and the next day, we just had the trucks pull up with all the pallets, with all the books stacked. And we had four days of just opening and putting it all up on the shelves, and then a whole other week of just making it look beautiful with an entire brand-new team of booksellers all from the local area,” said Ms. Kayser.

Ms. Kayser, originally from New Jersey, said she jumped at the opportunity to work in Rehoboth Beach.

Usually, new employees train in existing stores first, but because this location is so far away from others, store managers commuted to Rehoboth Beach to train staff and help set up.

“So, it was a lot of pairing up our newer people with those experienced store managers and experienced booksellers, and just showing them how to do it. And then we spent a couple of days role playing, talking about how to be a bookseller, how to talk to customers about books in a way, to really connect with the customer and find out what they’re looking for,” she said.

Recent initiatives encourage the book chain to cater stores to local interests, which Ms. Kayser said will be done over time.

“It’s always evolving. And we’re trying to keep it in mind (for) our year-round customers, and not just the tourists,” she said.

Every time a customer is looking for a book not in stock, the store makes a note, and eventually that data will build up to be a representation of what the community goes to the bookstore for.

The Rehoboth Beach location joins Delaware stores in Wilmington, Christiana and Newark.

Several events will take place at the store to mark the opening. For more information, check out the store page at Stores.barnesandnoble.com/store/3988 .