EWING -- The College of New Jersey's Campus Town welcomed its Barnes & Noble bookstore Monday, the first of the retail stores to open at the mixed-use complex.
The 14,000-square-foot store has been built to serve both town and gown. There are books piled on shelves and tables, a children's section, dorm and tech supplies and racks of blue and gold TCNJ gear -- even sweatshirts with Trenton State College on them.
The cafe, which looks out onto the rest of Campus Town, offers Starbucks drinks, sandwiches and other food.
RELATED: Crews busy readying TCNJ's Campus Town for students
"It's a nice bridge between the community and the school," senior Danielle Stepien, 21, said. "It's a nice addition to what's probably going to be a great Campus Town."
She said the store is better organized than the old bookstore and liked that the photos adorning the walls paid tribute to both old and new.
Senior Eddie Egan, 21, said he was excited to see that the cafe was much larger than he had expected. It was also nice, he said, to see familiar faces on staff.
Junior Maria Badilla, 21, said the store had more books than the old bookstore and the cafe's menu had more variety than the Library Cafe, giving it more of a mall feel.
"I wasn't expecting that here," she said.
People can get a glimpse of the rest of Campus Town at the ribbon cutting Aug. 19 at 11:30 a.m.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.