The July Indie Bookstore partner is Tattered Cover in Colorado. This collaboration was very meaningful for me, as I've been an bookseller at Tattered Cover for nearly three years. A huge thanks to all of my supportive colleagues and managers who helped me coordinate this box.
Tattered Cover opened in 1971 with a small, ground floor shop in the Cherry Creek neighborhood. The first owner was Stephen Cogil. Three years later, he sold his business to Joyce Meskis, who would run Tattered Cover for decades and grow it into one of the most preeminent bookstores in the United States.
In 1986, Meskis seized the opportunity to take over a four-story building that was formerly Neusteters department store. This new location was 41,700 square feet and a cafe on the top floor. This location closed in 2006, but it still looms large in the minds of long-time customers. I don't think I've worked a single shift without a customer mentioning their love for this store, which is refered to as the Cherry Creek store, not to be confused with the original location, which was in the same neighborhood. I've enjoyed hearing memories of Cherry Creek and I wish I had experienced it. It sounds like it was a book paradise! However, times change and the current locations are also fabulous in their own right.
Tattered Cover currently has four locations in Colorado. The headquarters is on Colfax Avenue and it's located in the old Bonfils Memorial Theatre. This 1950's era theatre had been repurposed as a retail space specifical for Tattered Cover after closing in the 80's. Elements of the theatre still exist in the building and it's a very unique space. The Stanley Market Place store is located in Aurora and primarily focused on children's books. The Union Station location is in downtown Denver. Finally, Aspen Grove is in Littleton. The picture above shows the beatiful mural from the Aspen Grove location and I wanted to show it off, because this is the location where I work.
Meskis was a well-known champion for first amendment rights, including going to the Colorado supreme court to fight for customer privacy. She also served as president of the American Booksellers Association. Meskis retired in 2015 and passed away in 2023. The store has gone through multiple owners since 2015 and is currently in the process of being sold again. The hope is to preserve the culture of this very special bookstore for generations to come.
Tattered Cover has many programs to engage with our community. We have book clubs and story time. We host many events every month, from local authors to big names. For example, our Colfax location hosted Elin Hilderbrand a few weeks ago and Aspen Grove recently had a horror night with Stephen Graham Jones and Paul Tremblay. Currently we have a summer reading program for kids and yearly we host a prison book drive. Our local author program allows us to support the community by giving consignment space to writers in our area. If this applies to you, make sure to visit the Tattered Cover website for more info. The used book buy back program is very popular, giving customers the opportunity to sell their used books for store credit.
Everyone loves a bookstore cafe and one can be found at Colfax. The cafe features literary inspired drinks and is a wonderful place to relax with your newly purchased book.
The Aspen Grove location has two unique features that I must mention. We currently house "Charlie." Charlie is a wax figure of long-time customer, Charlie Shugarts. The figure was created by local artist Quang Ho and purchased by Meskis. He sits near our fireplace reading his paper, in a pose that the real Shugarts used to frequently be found doing. This past Father's Day, Shugart's son came to visit his dad's wax work and honor his father, who passed away many years ago. I love that we have this touching tribute in the store where I work. Aspen Grove also has a store cat named Galileo. Galileo is a gorgeous tabby-siamese mix, who can often be found at the front register. His person is Kend and he goes home with them at the end of their shift. He is well-loved and even has his own staff recommendations.
I hope that you'll have a chance to visit Tattered Cover! Working for Tattered Cover has bought me so much joy and I love being part of the book community. The July box includes their branded store notepad with pen and store sticker. Please check out the Tattered Cover website and Instagram page.
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