Tattered Cover has been a beloved independent bookstore for more than half a century in Denver.

But like many other brick-and-mortar bookstores trying to survive the rise of the online bookseller that evolved into the e-commerce giant Amazon, Tattered Cover has been battling financial struggles. Especially when the pandemic hit.

But after new leadership failed to save it, leading to bankruptcy, parent company Bended Page LLC. found a new organization willing to take over Denver’s indie bookstore.

The new potential owner? Barnes & Noble.

Here’s a breakdown of how Tattered Cover went from indie darling to the country’s largest bookstore’s next acquisition, from news reports, Tattered Cover’s website and bankruptcy filings.

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The early days

1971 – Tattered Cover was founded in Cherry Creek.

1974 – Joyce Meskis bought Tattered Cover.

1983 – The chain opened its second location a block away from its first store.

1984 – Colorado passed a law to prohibit “sexually explicit content.” Meskis sued the state, leading a state supreme court decision to deem it unconstitutional.

1986 – Tattered Cover moved into a four-story building in Cherry Creek.

1994 — Amazon was founded.

1995 – Fourth Story Restaurant and Bar opens on the top floor of Tattered Cover’s Cherry Creek location.

1996 – A 20,000-square-foot Tattered Cover store in Historic Lower Downtown opened with a café.

2002 – A state Supreme Court sided with Meskis and Tattered Cover in a case to protect the store from having to share book purchase history with law enforcement. 

2004 – Tattered Cover opened its fourth store in Highlands Ranch.

2006 – The bookstore’s Fourth Story Restaurant & Bar closed.

2006 – Tattered Cover’s flagship store in Cherry Creek closed and moved into a renovated theater on Colfax Avenue, the former historic Bonfils-Lowenstein Theater (2526 E. Colfax Ave.)

2007 — The number of books sold in physical bookstores across the U.S. peaked, according to federal data.

2011 — Barnes & Noble buys the intellectual property and trademark of Borders, its national bookselling rival, amidst bankruptcy proceedings.

2014 – Tattered Cover opened satellite stores in Denver International Airport. It also opened another store in downtown Denver’s Union Station.

2015 – The Highlands Ranch store moved operations to Aspen Grove Shopping Center in Littleton.

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Change of ownership

2015 – Meskis sold a stake of store to book-industry veterans Len Vlahos and Kristen Gilligan.

2017 – Meskis retired as Vlahos and Gilligan took full control.

2018 – The British equivalent of Barnes & Noble, known as Waterstones, bought London-based independent store Foyles.

2019 – The parent company of Waterstones, Elliot Advisors, acquired Barnes & Noble and named independent bookstore owner James Daunt as CEO.

2020- The pandemic hit and federal data shows U.S. book store sales dipped to its lowest level since declines began more than a decade ago.

2020 – Vlahos and Gilligan sold Tattered Cover to investors Kwame Spearman and David Back under the company name Bended Page LLC.

2021 – Tattered Cover’s LoDo store moved to McGregor Square across from Coors Field.

2022 – Tattered Cover stores opened in Westminster and Colorado Springs. Meanwhile, Waterstones acquired London independent bookseller Blackwell’s. Both Foyles and Blackwell’s kept their name. Meskis died at the age of 80.

April 2023 – Spearman stepped down as CEO to pursue politics.

The bankruptcy chapter

October 16, 2023 – Bended Page filed for bankruptcy and announces it will close three stores in Westminster, Colorado Springs and McGregor Square. The bookstore laid off 25 employees.

March 8, 2024 – Tattered Cover announced a reorganization plan to get out of bankruptcy and hit profitability again by 2025.

March 29, 2024 – Bended Page asked the bankruptcy court to delay a hearing for its reorganization so it can pursue selling the bookstore.

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June 11, 2024 – Bended Page was to hold an auction Wednesday but notified the court it would cancel the sale to allow more time to deliberate on its offers.

June 18, 2024 – Court filings show Barnes & Noble bid to buy Tattered Cover was approved for $1.8 million. The deal’s terms include Barnes & Noble will keep the Tattered Cover name and its four stores open. 

July 31, 2024 — The last day for the sale to close.