After Barnes and Noble closed all three of their Queens stores over the course of 2015, three of their former employees, Natalie Bodea, Holly Nikodem, and Vina Castillo, came together to start a campaign to open up a new bookstore in the borough. But the reception they received turned out to be beyond their wildest initial expectations.

The last Barnes and Noble in Queens closed on New Year’s Eve last year. A Target Express stands in its place.

Within weeks of the campaign starting in January, it received coverage from various media outlets like NY1. By the time of the actual Kickstarter campaign, they raised $72,000 for the project. The store is slated for an early 2017 opening.

The Astoria Bookshop. One of the last bookshops in Queens. It was also a source of inspiration for the Queens Bookshop Initiative.