Could the Tattered Cover — gasp — no longer be locally owned?

That possibility could very well be a reality as the owner of Tattered Cover works to get Denver’s beloved independent bookstore chain out of bankruptcy. Parent company Bended Page LLC is now also looking for a buyer.

Bended Page is considering selling Tattered Cover, according to a motion filed Friday to the federal bankruptcy court in Colorado. The organization asked the court to reschedule a hearing to confirm the bookstore’s plan to get out of bankruptcy so it can consider several proposals.

Who will buy it?

Tattered Cover has gotten interest from buyers across the country but would not comment on how many have made offers or who.

The parent company also hopes to spread the word across the industry to get more offers, a company statement said.

“Positioning Tattered Cover for sale to a qualified, committed new owner is in the best long-term interests of the company, current investors, employees, suppliers and Colorado’s literary community,” the company said in a Friday news release.

A path out of financial troubles

Tattered Cover went into bankruptcy last year as pandemic shutdowns and online competition put pressure on sales and the company went into debt — closing three stores in Westminster, Colorado Springs and downtown Denver’s McGregor Square and laying off more than two dozen employees.

Earlier this month, the bookstore filed a plan to get the company out of bankruptcy within eight months and said it plans to be profitable again by 2025.

The court scheduled a hearing in May to consider approving the company’s plan, which could evolve to include a potential acquisition. Tattered Cover is asking to set a new date no earlier than mid-June.

Tattered Cover currently has stores open on Colfax Avenue, Union Station, Aurora, and Littleton. In its reorganization plan, the company said it was still considering whether to keep them open or find smaller locations.

The chain said it was looking to be a more efficient, smaller company than before.

The bookstore is working to increase sales by improving customer experience, fixing publisher relationships, attracting better events, upgrading technology and growing its online presence.

Leadership changes over a decade

Now that the 53-year-old chain founded by independent bookstore and First Amendment advocate Joyce Meskis is in an improving position, Bended Page’s board of directors decided last week to consider selling the bookstore. Potential suitors could buy some or all of the businesses’ assets, the filing said.

Previous owners Len Vlahos and Kristen Gilligan took over Tattered Cover in 2015 from its founder Meskis, who died in 2022. They sold it in 2020 to Colorado-based investment group Bended Page. Denver’s Kwame Spearman led the company as CEO until April last year, when he stepped down to pursue politics after a failed mayoral run, though court filings from Bended Page’s chairman David Back said Spearman was fired for breaching his contract by campaigning.

Bended Page then turned to Brad Dempsey, a Colorado bankruptcy attorney and former Republican congressional candidate, to transform the company during its financial troubles. His firm Dempsey Consulting earns a fixed payment of $10,000 a month plus expenses, according to court filings, about a tenth of his normal hourly rate.

Is the bookstore actually recovering?

Tattered Cover’s February sales were up 14% from 2023 within its four stores, according to the bookstore’s filing. And so far, March sales are up 20% year-over-year.

While sales are up, the bookstore is still bleeding more money than it plans for.

Tattered Cover projected to lose $109,000 in February, but court filings show it lost nearly twice as much last month — about $214,000. Revenues were higher than monthly projections, but not nearly enough to offset the higher costs.

It could continue losing money from paying off old debts until 2025, the year it aims to get back to profitability.

The bookstore has been relying on a nearly $1.3 million loan from Read Colorado, LLC, a group of local philanthropists, that helped Tattered Cover stay open past October.

“Read Colorado’s DIP loan was the lifeline that allowed Tattered Cover to rework itself into a strong position to be acquired by people who share our commitment to independent bookstores,” Tattered Cover CEO Dempsey said in a statement.