Books A Million Grand Opening Saturday

Read any good books lately? Ever since bankruptcy forced Border’s book store to close its doors, Waterford has been a town without a big book store. That changed this week, when Books A Million (otherwise known as BAM!) opened in its place at the Waterford Commons.

The official grand opening is today and to celebrate, the store will be giving away BAM tote bags to the first 200 customers who walk in the door. One lucky person will also walk away with a $500 store gift certificate that has been tucked inside one of the totes.

The store had a soft opening on Monday and word traveled so fast that by Friday, Books A Million was already doing a brisk trade with scores of book lovers flocking to the store in search of new reading material.

 “It was phenomenal,” said General Manager Jessica Pennington. “The store was hopping. My staff were running around taking care of everyone’s needs and it looked like everyone was walking out the door happy. We’re getting a lot of thanks for coming back.”

At first glance, the new store doesn’t look much different than the original Borders. Aside from the magazines, which are now over in the café area, the layout hasn’t changed much. The store still stocks DVDs and music in the same area and children’s literature remains in the back left corner of the store.

Pennington says she hopes to see local book clubs return too, and plans to bring back the children’s story hour and other children’s activities that Border’s used to host. She also hopes to bring local and national authors to town for book readings and signings.

Regular Border’s customers, meanwhile, are already seeing many of the same faces among the store’s 35 employees. Pennington, for instance, was previously employed by Borders and worked at the Borders at Waterford Commons until it closed. She said about a third to half of the staff came from Borders stores at Waterford Commons, Crystal Mall, and Eastbrook Mall in Willimantic.

A number of customers on Friday commented on how nice it was to see so many familiar faces. “With the economy the way it is, they hired a lot of them back, so that’s really good to see,” said Cheryl Gerfin of Groton. “It looks very much the same. We’re certainly glad to see another book store coming in.”

Her daughter Cassy agreed. “I’m looking forward to not having to drive my boyfriend an hour and a half away to Barnes & Noble to buy his magazines!”

Not all the shelves were fully stocked as of Friday and Books A Million’s coffee shop, Joe Muggs, won’t be open until the middle of next week, pending final touches to the plumbing and the electrical work and approval by the board of health.

Still, the store met its goal of being open in time for the holidays. Indeed, some of the biggest differences between Borders and Books A Million will be most obvious around the holidays.

“We’re well known for our Faith Point area,” says Pennington. “It’s a much larger religious footprint [in terms of faith-based books, Bibles, and religion-oriented gifts]. Another of the biggest differences is we’ve brought in a lot more generalized merchandise, so it can be a one-stop shopping experience. People can pick up a toy or a book and a couple of stocking stuffers.”  

Some shoppers on Friday who arrived anticipating finding books at bargain prices were a little disappointed to see that most titles were selling for the recommended retail price. However, the store does offer a bargain section in which books sell for $4.97 and $7.97. “There are great deals in there,” said Pennington.

The store also offers discounts to customers who join its “Millionaires Club.” For an annual fee of $20, members get 10 percent off everything except high-end electronics and Rosetta Stone language packages.

At any given time, there are 100 to 200 titles on the Millionaires Club list, Pennington said, and the store’s top 10 bestsellers are available at 40 percent off to members. People who join the club on Saturday will get an even deeper discount, because the store is offering 20 percent off on opening day.

With a name like Books A Million, the obvious question had to be asked: Does the store really carry a million books?

“My four-year-old asked that same question today!” Pennington laughed. “We just did inventory, so I’m not sure of the exact count, but I would not be surprised that it’s well in the millions between what we have in-house and what we can get our hands on. A store this size could easily carry a million books at a time--and it definitely felt that way stocking the store!”