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Popular queer bookstore to close next month

Petals & Pages, an independent bookstore and flower shop with a focus on LGBTQ+ literature, announced it will close next month due to financial reasons. 

The queer- and woman-owned bookstore in Denver’s historic Santa Fe Arts District at 956 Santa Fe Drive first opened in 2022. It announced on Instagram on Monday that its last day in business will be April 12. All previously scheduled events will continue, Petals & Pages added.

“In the time we’ve been open, we’ve gotten thousands of queer books into the hands of the people who’ve needed them the most, and have become more than just a bookstore,” the post from Petals & Pages said. “We’ve connected with our community in the most transformative way and we will always be grateful for that.”

Owner Dylah Ray told The Denver Gazette while Petals & Pages succeeded at becoming a gathering space for the literary, art and queer community, community building didn’t necessarily translate to financial success.

The rising rent was one of the most difficult challenges they faced and books have fairly fixed prices, leaving them little “wiggle room” in a low-profit-margin business, she said.

“The financial feasibility of the business just makes it impossible to continue running our operations,” she said. “We’re losing a lot of third spaces throughout Denver. And with really high rent, small businesses are having a hard time.” 

After the store closes, Ray said she’s still figuring out what to do but plans to continue being an advocate for Denver’s queer and literary scenes and will keep up with the writing workshop program that began at Petals & Pages. She’s also working on her own book.

The store asked shoppers to continue supporting the store by buying books from them on online platforms such as bookshop.org and audiobook platform libro.fm. Petals & Pages also directed customers to support other indie bookstores in the Denver area such as West Side Books & Curios and The Book Rack.

Ray said it is important to support local indie bookstores as Denver’s landscape has rapidly changed since she opened her shop in 2022. 

“It will be interesting to see how it develops,” she said. “But I know that as long as you are shopping local and providing this community support, hopefully there’s a long future for indie bookstores in Denver.”

Meanwhile, Larimer Square welcomes a new indie bookstore 

While one bookstore closes, another is preparing to open its doors. 

Little Blue Pigeon is an independent bookstore set to open in downtown Denver’s historic Larimer Square on Wednesday. It will be an independent woman-owned shop run by children’s book author and book marketing professional Paige Dungan.

“I’ve built my career around launching, positioning and championing authors and literary voices,” Dungan, a Denverite, said in a news release. “The Little Blue Pigeon is a natural extension of that work — a move from promoting books to creating a permanent physical platform for them — and I couldn’t be more excited to launch this store.”

It’s the latest bookstore to open in the Denver area following the Denver Book Society a month ago, who dropped its founding partner and former CEO of Tattered Cover Kwame Spearman after backlash.

Speaking of, the slate of new indie bookstores in Denver follows after Tattered Cover, which was once one of the city’s most storied independent bookstores, was bought by Barnes & Noble in 2024 following its bankruptcy.

Little Blue Pigeon said it will stock about 4,000 titles of books that were not selected by algorithms or buying trends, rather they have all been “read and personally selected” by Dungan. It will include fiction, nonfiction and cookbooks. 

The bookstore will feature mural walls by Abby Anderson of Lupine Designs.

And for every five books sold, one book will be donated to a Denver-based literacy organization. The first partner for the month of April is nonprofit BookGive.

“We’re excited to offer both residents and visitors a calm, engaging environment where readers of all ages can explore books, attend small gatherings, and participate in community-centered initiatives,” Dungan said.