Book Lovers Bemoan Closure Of Royal Oak Barnes & Noble Store

ROYAL OAK (WWJ) - "I'm not too surprised, but it's very unfortunate," said Judy Kreiselmeier, one of the many book lovers flooding the Royal Oak Barnes & Noble on Monday.

The store, at Fifth Street and Main, has been busy since the store announced it will close for good on April 5 — unable to afford the pricey downtown rent.

Kreiselmeier admitted she does buy books sometimes online at Amazon.com, "But I kind of like a book store to go in and feel the books," she told WWJ Newsradio 950's Sandra McNeil.

"You know, I was sorry when Borders went out of business," she said, "and ... not that Barnes & Noble is going out of business, but I'm sorry that this one won't be here, in downtown Royal Oak."

Barnes & Noble had reportedly paying the landlord reduced rent at the Royal Oak store for over a year.

Late last year, local software firm Vectorform announced it planned to move its headquarters to the book store's second floor. Some had been hoping, however, Barnes & Noble would remain open as a single-story shop.

"I just hate seeing these kind of stores go away," said Mary Adolph of Berkley. "It's like the end of an era."

Bridget Nimback and her 5-year-old daughter Alison came out Monday with a bag full of books marked down 40 percent.

"I came in today because I heard that it was closing, and I'm very sad," Nimback said, "because my kids are at an age when they're starting to read ... and I think it's more of the change with the whole Internet stores being open all the time."

"I'm not quite there yet," she added. "I still like the shops; I still like to come in and peruse the stores."

It was not immediately clear how store employees would affected by the closure.