Last month I wrote an article about a potential comeback of Abby Cinema to West Milford, but what if the theater wasn’t the only new addition to the town? To explore this, I recently sent out a poll for the whole school (students and staff) to give their input on what kind of restaurants, entertainment, and/or stores they would be interested in seeing in our town. Of the options available, one stood out to me; my personal favorite would be for town officials to bring in a Barnes and Noble. 

I’ve always loved to read ever since I learned how. Barnes and Noble was the closest thing to heaven for me: the silence, the smell of the pages, the kindness of the workers all made me feel so eager never to leave the store. Unfortunately, every store was at least an hour away from my home, which made it difficult to visit and fuel my love for literature. If we brought a Barnes and Noble to our town, residents like me would be more than thrilled to buy books and apply for jobs there. Understandably, money isn’t everything, but having more stores, restaurants, etc., would be incredibly beneficial to our community. The job offers would be great and the money flow would likely be better. The Barnes and Noble, just like every other store, would include a Starbucks. So, if you don’t like books, no problem! Now you’ll have another spot to hang-out with your friends and family, relax, and grab a coffee other than Dunkin’ Donuts. 

After closing the Google form survey, there were 66 responses. In first and second place for the top picks, having a movie theater has 37 votes and Chick-Fil-A has 36. Luckily for the main idea of this article, Barnes and Noble with a Starbucks inside is in third place with 31 votes. With the lowest votes we have Bojangles (2 votes), Hallmark (2 votes), and Taco Bell (7 votes). Starbucks was also sent in with the “other” option with 4 votes. Thank you to everyone who participated in this Google form. If we can bring in any of these establishments, I believe it would greatly benefit our community.