Hammes Bookstore Expansion - 2008

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Construction continues Tuesday on an expansion on the Hammes Bookstore on the University of Notre Dame campus.

Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore undergoes expansion
Project will add about 3,000 square feet.

By MARGARET FOSMOE

Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND - The Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore is in the midst of an expansion that will provide about 3,000 additional feet of retail and cafe space.

The project includes pushing out the first floor south wall to the edge of the outdoor arcade - a covered walkway.

The arcade originally was designed to provide shelter for lines of customers waiting to get into the bookstore on busy home football Saturdays.

With the size of the bookstore and electronic improvements that allow sales to be quickly completed at the registers, the arcade wasn't used. "With the quick movement, it made it obsolete," said Keith Kirkpatrick, director of retail management for the bookstore, which is operated by Follett Higher Education Group.

The expansion will allow for about 2,500 square feet of additional retail space, mainly to expand the clothing area, Kirkpatrick said.

A dedicated space for adidas clothing will be on the southeast corner, in the men's clothing area.

The renovation and expansion will include all new fixtures - clothes racks and bookshelves - made of the same cherry wood as the current fixtures. This is the first renovation/expansion of the bookstore since it opened in 1999. The work is expected to be finished this spring.

A new area on the first floor will provide space for sales of Notre Dame memorabilia handled by Steiner Sports Marketing & Memorabilia Inc. The bookstore now has a small area on the second floor for sales of photographs, game day footballs, helmets and other items signed by coaches and former players.

That area will move to the first floor and be more visible, Kirkpatrick said.

The cafe in the eastern area of the bookstore will be expanded about 800 square feet and provide free wi-fi service. The expanded cafe will extend to the large floor-to-ceiling window on the north side that provides a view of the Golden Dome.

A new doorway to the cafe will open at the northeast corner and the cafe patio will be expanded.

The cafe will offer more food items other than coffee and baked goods. There also will be a new soup selection, a gelato machine and a gourmet pretzel bar, Kirkpatrick said.

The class ring counter will be moved to the second floor. Women's and children's apparel sections will remain on the second floor.

A western wall upstairs will be taken down and pushed back, allowing the textbook area to expand by 1,000 square feet.

Kirkpatrick thinks customers will be pleased with the changes. "The goal is to have an environment that is easily shoppable," he said.

Staff writer Margaret Fosmoe:
mfosmoe@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6329