Long-Awaited Upper East Side Target Opens For Business

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Well over a year after its arrival was first announced, Target has opened up for business on East 86th Street, bringing department store convenience to the neighborhood's busiest corridor.

The store welcomed its first customers Tuesday afternoon, five days before the Oct. 24 "grand opening" date listed on its company website. The storefront at 150 East 86th St., between Third and Lexington avenues, was home to a Barnes & Noble until the bookstore closed its location last June, saying the space was "too large, and too expensive."

At roughly 55,000 square feet, the 86th Street space is more than double the size of the "small-format" store on East 70th Street that Target opened in 2018 as its first Upper East Side location.

The store employs about 200 people, according to the company, and is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. It includes a CVS Pharmacy, home decor, clothing, personal care and beauty products, groceries and a same-day order system.

Target's lease with owner Vornado Realty Trust will reportedly last 20 years. This is Target's 12th store in Manhattan and 91st in the greater New York area.

Barnes & Noble said last year that it planned to search for another location in the neighborhood, but there has been no word from the bookstore chain about another Upper East Side opening.