Bookstore relocates to University Center

The UW-River Falls University Bookstore moved into the University Center on March 12 and has taken on a new name - the Falcon Shop.

The store actually opened on March 15 at 1 p.m, but the ribbon-cutting ceremony is to be held on April 11 at 12:30 a.m.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony will mark the official opening of the store.

They decided to do the grand opening on April 11 because it made more sense. There are many other things going on in the University Center that will help attract attention to the new Falcon Shop.

The old bookstore was located in Hagestad Hall and was closed for only one day while in the process of moving. Store manager Sherry Rehnelt said she was not informed that anyone was bothered by the store closing.

“We haven’t heard anyone that was concerned that the bookstore was closed,” Rehnelt said. “If there are people out there we don’t know it.”

The Falcon Shop has a many windows along the north side of the University Center, allowing for sunlight to illuminate the store as customers make their purchases.

Junior Elizabeth Beckman likes the new location much better than when it was in Hagestad. She has been working for the bookstore for two years now, before it became the new Falcon Shop. Beckman said she was happy to make the move to the University Center and get out of the desolate halls of Hagestad.

“There are more windows and it got lonely being the only place still over there,” Beckman said. “It is so nice to see outside and not be stuck on the other end of campus; now we are in the middle.”

With the new location, the layout of the store has been altered, which freshman Mishka Kalan thinks is a positive change.

“It’s nice and big,” she said. “I like it now how it is set up.”

Senior Maurice Baker agrees that the new Falcon Shop is nicer and in a better location, making it more accessible for the majority of the student body.

“I think it’s better than the old one,” Baker said. “It makes more sense because it is in the new University Center and there are more people over here.”

The Falcon Shop was moved to the University Center partially because it is a better location and would generate more traffic. It is not certain yet whether it is really going to affect people with the location of the Falcon Shop being in the University Center, but it will definitely generate more traffic.

“There has already been more traffic being in here since we moved in,” Rehnelt said.

Some students like the new store because there is more room, allowing for people to move about and shop more easily.

“I like it,” senior Amy Severson said. “It is more open and you can see more; before it was all crowded.”

The new Falcon Shop is now in a more convenient place. It is the first door on the left when walking into the University Center. You can see the shop from outside the building, which is appealing to the eye.
“I like that it is more convenient than when it was in Hagestad,” Severson said.

The grand opening of the Falcon Shop will offer door prizes to people who enter into a drawing; there will also be an iPod given away.

The Falcon Shop will have an in-store box set up, where entry forms will be collected. The grand prize will be drawn and throughout the day, there will be other prizes given away every hour. Anything that has a University logo on it in the store will also be 20 percent off.

Store hours for the new shop are Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.