Jarring news from Denver for the many fans of the Tattered Cover bookstore: Barnes & Noble is buying the storied, struggling independent for $1.83 million. Tattered Cover's owner--Bended Page--accepted B&N's offer late yesterday. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court must approve the deal.
According to Denverite, B&N has agreed to continue running the bookseller under the Tattered Cover name, keep the four Tattered Cover stores open, and employ "substantially all" staff. B&N has not had a presence in the city of Denver since 2015.
A spokesperson for Bended Page told Denverite, "In addition to the best purchase price, the purchaser's offer provided the best continuity of operations for our customers, staff, landlords, and community. Other bids did not contemplate the continuation of our operations at all existing locations."
Tattered Cover filed for bankruptcy last October, closing three of its seven stores and letting go about a quarter of its 103 employees. In March, it submitted a plan to emerge from bankruptcy by June, but in April, it announced that there was interest from "individuals and businesses across the U.S." in buying the company, a move it had decided was "in the best long-term interests of the company, current investors, employees, suppliers, and Colorado's literary community." Last month, Tattered Cover court filings indicated that at least eight groups were interested in participating in the auction that was to be held last Wednesday, but the day before the auction, it was cancelled.
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| Tattered Cover, Colfax Ave. | |
The B&N purchase is a surprising turn for the Tattered Cover, which was founded in 1971 and, under the longtime leadership of the late Joyce Meskis, was one of the premier independent bookstores in the world, an inspiration for many booksellers, and an effective defender of free speech and the First Amendment.
Meskis bought the 900-square-foot store in 1974 and steadily expanded it. For a time, it occupied the 40,000-square-foot space of a former department store in Cherry Creek, with four floors and a full-service restaurant on the top floor, making it one of the largest bookstores, chain or independent, in the country.
Tattered Cover pioneered or perfected many staples of independent bookselling, including having cafes, encouraging customers to sit and read, offering an extensive range of author events and other programming, and seeking to make the stores community centers. Meskis also emphasized staff training, sent employees to booksellers schools, encouraged them to be involved in book world organizations, and treated staff with respect and openness.
Under Meskis's leadership, in the 1990s, Tattered Cover opened in the Lower Downtown district, which helped rejuvenate the area after a period of decline. It also opened branches in and around Denver and currently has four stores, as well as several outlets at the Denver International Airport that are managed by Hudson News.
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| Tattered Cover, Aspen Grove | |
Meskis sold Tattered Cover in 2015 to Len Vlahos and Kristen Gilligan, but in 2020, with the start of the pandemic and controversy engendered by the store's statement following George Floyd's murder, the pair sold the store to a group led by Kwame Spearman that included a range of investors from around the country. Under Spearman, Tattered Cover aggressively opened new stores, including one in Colorado Springs, betting that the increased sales would save the company financially. But the approach led to turnover of staff, many of whom complained publicly about burnout, bad morale, and Spearman's management style. Spearman left the company early last year. Brad Dempsey, a Denver bankruptcy attorney, was then brought in as CEO.
When Tattered Cover declared bankruptcy last October, ownership changed and the company was then headed by Leslie Rainbolt and Margie Gart, original investors who provided financing to keep Tattered Cover afloat.
The purchase by a national chain bookseller of an independent is rare but not unheard of. In 1992, Books-A-Million bought major indie Books & Co., Dayton, Ohio, and in 1997, Borders bought the Library Ltd., Clayton, Mo., another major indie at the time. B&N itself bought chains B. Dalton Bookseller and Book Stop in the 1980s.
The move is also not unusual for Waterstones under the leadership of James Daunt, who is also CEO of B&N. In 2018, Waterstones bought Foyles, the longtime London independent bookseller. Waterstones also owns two of the oldest bookstores in the U.K. and Ireland, Hatchards and Hodges Figgis, respectively, which were bought before Daunt joined Waterstones in 2011.