Amazon, the massive online retailer that has surely been muttered in anger by many a local bookseller, has opened a brick-and-mortar bookstore.

Next to a Banana Republic in Seattle’s University Village, you’ll now find Amazon Books an actual physical bookstore.

The store opens its doors at 9:30am PT.

Amazon’s physical bookstore will still have ties to its online store, as many of the selections will be based on online reviews. If it’s popular online, Amazon will sell it at Amazon Books.

“Amazon Books is a physical extension of Amazon.com. We’ve applied 20 years of online bookselling experience to build a store that integrates the benefits of offline and online book shopping. The books in our store are selected based on Amazon.com customer ratings, pre-orders, sales, popularity on Goodreads, and our curators’ assessments. These are fantastic books! Most have been rated 4 stars or above, and many are award winners,” says the company.

“To give you more information as you browse, our books are face-out, and under each one is a review card with the Amazon.com customer rating and a review. You can read the opinions and assessments of Amazon.com’s book-loving customers to help you find great books.”

Amazon Books’ prices are the same prices as appear online.

“It’s data with heart,” says Jennifer Cast, vice president of Amazon Books. “We’re taking the data we have and we’re creating physical places with it … The bookstores I love celebrate reading. What better way to celebrate reading than to have the voices of readers under our books?”

According to the Seattle Times, the store is staffed by about 15 people – including local librarians, retail clerks and an Amazon receptionist.

Image via Amazon