In the months since new owners rescued Explore Booksellers, Aspen, Colo., the bookshop "has become a hive of cultural activity," the Aspen Times reported. After Doug Phelps and his investors from the Public Interest Network bought the business last January, they contacted Ann Powers to help book literary programming.
The bookstore, which was once "a hub of local culture," had seen its events taper off in recent years as the previous owners faced financial difficulty. But Powers started the quest to reverse that trend by asking people what they wanted to see going on in the shop. "I went out and met the staff, and everyone was so excited about the new ownership and all the things we can do at the bookstore--events, great readings, classes, workshops, literary parties," she said. "It's a big part of the community and has deep roots in the community.... We want to be a community center for interesting conversation and ideas."
Now Explore Booksellers, "quite suddenly since it appeared poised to for a scrape-and-replace development, has taken on a salonlike vibrancy," the Aspen Times wrote.
