Barnes & Noble
West Ashley. 1812 Sam Rittenberg Blvd. 556-6561
Mt. Pleasant. 1716 Towne Centre Way. 216-9756
N. Charleston. 7620 Rivers Ave. 572-2322
While Barnes & Noble has won Best Bookstore for nine years straight, it wasn’t always that way. When the City Paper first sent out a call for readers to vote for their favorite bookstore in 1998, Books-A-Million and downtown store Chapter Two tied for the title. So what happened? Well, although B&N may have been slow to expand at first, they eventually started to edge their competitors out in regional markets with their in-store coffeehouses; an extensive selection of specialty trade and foreign magazines; hand-picked, intelligent staffers (just try filling out a B&N application — it’ll send you on a nostalgia trip down college essay-test lane); and their popular Member Program, which offers discounts both in the store and online. And where are B-A-M and Chapter Two today? The former recently shuttered its West Ashley location, bringing their Lowcountry presence down to two stores, and the latter, sadly, closed years ago.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.
