Students will soon get to buy stuffed Sparky toys and put money on their Sun Cards in the same store.
Union Station, a satellite of the ASU Bookstore, is set to open this fall in the basement of the Memorial Union. The store will occupy the former location of Rita's Hallmark Gift Shop.
"One-stop shopping is what we're hoping to provide with this," said Becky Hornack, program coordinator for the MU.
Paul Strauss, program director for the ASU Bookstore, will manage Union Station. Strauss said the new store will serve as a central location for currently scattered services.
The Sun Card Office, where students are able to obtain Sun Cards and put money on them, will relocate to Union Station. A copy center will be available for binding and laminating.
The store also will sell ASU-branded apparel, as well as other items such as sunglasses, magazines and greeting cards.
"The nice thing about it is that [the store] will be a mixture of student services and retail, whereas before it was just retail," Strauss said.
Hornack said Union Station also will have a ticket window "so students don't have to walk all the way to the stadium" to get tickets to ASU sporting events.
Strauss said the idea for Union Station came up at the urging of the ASU Bookstore staff, which wanted a satellite team shop in the MU.
Students gave input into the facility at open-forum meetings, Strauss said.
"We had input from several student leaders from a variety of student groups," Strauss said.
The current Sun Card office space, also located in the basement of the MU, will be left vacant until a new store is found. Jim Beadle, business manager for the MU, said ASU is negotiating with several independent retailers to occupy the space but wouldn't speculate on what type of business would ultimately end up there.
"We will fill the space, but I don't know with whom," Beadle said. "We're talking with a lot of people, and obviously I wouldn't be talking with them if they wouldn't be a good addition."
Strauss said he believes an express delivery service, similar to FedEx, would probably fill the space.
Rita's Hallmark Gift Shop closed its doors in March. A drop in profitability made the $2,500-per-month rent on the space too expensive, said Rita Ellinghausen. The store has a main location in north Tempe.
"Business was strong for the first couple of years, but it tapered off after that," Ellinghausen said. "This summer really killed it."
Reach the reporter at jason.ludwig@asu.edu.