Cheyenne's Barnes & Noble Has Reopened

A polite crowd of excited bookworms waited outside the new Barnes & Noble when I arrived fifteen minutes early to the store's reopening. You couldn't ask for better weather - golden leaves, a crisp breeze, and warm sunshine graced the Grand Reopening.

A Beloved Bookstore Returns to Town

At ten a.m. sharp, a handful of Barnes & Noble employees and notable persons stepped out the front doors. Colt Johnson, manager of the Cheyenne location, celebrated the day with nothing but smiles. "It's so wonderful to see all of you here...It's been 18. Long months, as many of you know, but we take great pride in Barnes & Noble finally returning to Cheyenne. Getting to this point has taken a team effort. Thank you to the booksellers who worked tirelessly over the past three weeks to go from the shell that the building was to the beautiful bookstore that you will see shortly. Our booksellers are very proud of what they've achieved, and they look forward to helping you find your next great read or making a recommendation for a friend."

Johnson welcomed several B&N special guests, including the regional director Carrie Dean, B&N's loss prevention market manager, Lindley Boyd, and two managers from regional stores - Randall Williams from Denver and Eric Welch from Fort Collins.

The most illustrious guest at today's Grand Reopening was the New York Times Best-Selling Author of 'The Only Good Indians,' and 'My Heart is a Chainsaw,' Stephen Graham Jones. Jones's writing dossier is beyond impressive; he's won a Mark Twain, American Voice in Literature Award, and the LA Times Ray Bradbury prize, among other impressive accolades.

Jones had nothing but glowing words about the new location, "It's so cool to see you all here all lined up for a bookstore...that thrills my heart. You know, some of you all are going to be the first to go in the store. I think that that means something." His words certainly captured the energy of the moment. For many of those in attendance, this reopening was equivalent to entering Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. "Bookstores," Jones continued, "are places where the booksellers lead you through what feels like a National Park, and they say, 'walk up this aisle,' you'll find something amazing at the end of it." Jones mused, a warm smile on his face. "As far as I'm concerned when we start having bookstores, we stop having civilization... thank you all for being here this morning. This means a lot. All right, thank you, everybody. And welcome back to Barnes & Noble."

Welcome Back to Barnes & Noble

And just like that, the giant scissors were out, and the ribbon tumbled. The crowds milled forward, excited whispers and exclamations from a few kids. Barnes and Noble was reopened!

A Community Celebrates B&N's Return

Several guests and staff were happy to share their thoughts on the new store.

"We are beyond excited and thrilled we can't wait for everybody to see what we've been missing for 18 months," said Colton Johnson, Manager of Cheyenne's brand new Barnes and Noble. "I've just missed being [here] with our Cheyenne customers. They've been having a commute to Loveland in Fort Collins, and now we can just stay home!"

Randall Williams, Denver Manager of B&N, said, "We just love our bookstores, and we're so happy to be back in the state." Eric Welch, Fort Collins Manager, concurred, adding that they'd miss the Cheyenne employees they had worked with: "We have had some for over a year. They are fantastic. Yes, we already do [miss them.]"

One couple was exceptionally excited about the reopening, saying, "When the old one closed, we were pretty disappointed, right? We've just been waiting now for almost two years been a countdown. We're big book readers, too, so Walmart doesn't really shut it."

Plenty of fellow patrons echoed joy at no longer needing to commute to find books - one called the reopening "rejuvenating."

Several younger patrons were in attendance - one of whom happily explained she couldn't wait for her mommy to buy and read new books with her.

The new store's hours at 5116 Frontier Mall Dr #400 are: