And no - Denver's Tattered Cover Bookstore is not returning as an independent 4-store chain. It is still owned by Barnes and Noble, and the back-office staff have not been offered their jobs back. However, Kwame Spearman, the Ex-Tattered Cover CEO, has purchased a building with partner Rich Garvin that will become the location of a new 3,500 square foot bookstore and 2,000 square foot eatery called Denver Book Society. This building was the location of Humboldt Kitchen and Bar at 17th and Humboldt for 10 years and before that Strings, a very upscale and iconic Denver restaurant. As Denverites may remember, Spearman and partner David Back led an investor group that bought the Tattered Cover to "save it" back in December 2020, but which ultimately led the store to Chapter 11 bankruptcy and a sale to Barnes and Noble last summer. Spearman says he learned valuable lessons from his experience as a first-time bookstore owner and now believes he has a formula for success. He plans to be open by the spring of 2026. We will see how that works out. And yes - that is indeed a photograph of the main floor of the Tattered Cover Bookstore in LoDo (Lower Downtown Denver) that I took when I worked at that chain as the bookkeeper. And to be honest, I don't think anyone will be able to recreate that atmosphere again.
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