Follow @kassidyberger

Students saw the quad transformed into a shopping center on Tuesday as L.L. Bean made another stop on their college tour.

“Our marketing department at Follett works with the bookstores on campuses to bring retailers or other events to campus to enrich the student experience,” Cheryl Cartier, manager of the Quinnipiac bookstore, said.

L.L. Bean brought their pop up shop on to QU’s quad on Tuesday. The company offered a 20% discount to students who shopped at the “Bootmobile.”

“L.L. Bean tours nationally. It’s called the College Campus Tour and they come…they start out in the northeast and they go to other universities everywhere- Ohio State, Pitt, and this happens to be one of the stops that we added this year,” Cartier said. 

L.L. Bean maintains two “Bootmobiles.” The company’s original Bootmobile has been on the road since 2012. The two GMC Sierras have collected more than 350,000 miles. According to L.L. Bean, if it were an actual boot, the person wearing it would be 143 feet tall.

The shop opened at 10 a.m. to an excited group of shoppers.

“It was great,” sophomore Manny DiBella said. “I love L.L. Bean.”

During Welcome Weekend in August, Bed, Bath and Beyond of Hamden held a pop-up shop that featured merchandise such as dorm supplies and other home goods.

“We are planning other pop up trunk events. We’d like to get LuLuLemon here for a couple of days, so we’re still working with them. They just opened a new store in New Haven, so we hope that’ll be a good relationship,” Cartier said. “And I think we’ll see L.L. Bean back next year and maybe even Bed, Bath and Beyond.”