November 6, 2015 –The past two years have not been good for Denver area used bookstores and rising rents will continue to exert downward pressure on your local bookstore which is why used bookstores everywhere are closing.
Since 2014, we’ve counted eight book stores in the metro area that have failed. The Book Nook in Louisville closed October 23, and notably Barnes & Noble (BKS) is closing at Denver Pavilions, by years end. The list is at the bottom.
Working closely with Don Hartley, at Coyote Ridge Books, was a big education in how even a well-run bookshop is vulnerable to rising retail space rents and shifting markets.
Coyote Ridge lost its lease in October 2015 to a tenant willing to pay double the rent the shop was paying. They stayed open after a tip from a newspaper article led to a new locale and affordable lease, here.
In Coyote Ridge’s case, the closing of the Target store across the street contributed to declining visitors at the book shop’s previous location. Having an anchor store attracted more customers to the bookstore but when Target closed, that missing anchor and its flow of customers disappeared. Not exactly the situation you want to be in with commercial rates skyrocketing.
People do like going to bookstores, but it must be convenient. Customers see the book store as the second stop, with the main stop being Target, supermarket etc. If the main stop goes away, so does that second stop.
Still that didn’t stop $2 Buck Books from closing at a very busy shopping center with a King Sooper’s anchor. You start to look to the business model after awhile and sadly every road leads away from books.
There are opportunities for bookstores that blur the line between selling online and offline, and offering other item. We started doing book donation pickups for example. Whether book store owners have the stomach, to drastically alter their business model, and the resources to back that switch, is another question and in many cases, the answer is no.
Even Joyce Meskis, the owner of Denver’s largest and best known bookstore, the Tattered Cover is on record saying that you could make more money doing almost anything else than running a bookstore.
In a world when an institution like Foyles in London needs to drastically change the business model, small bookstores are even more in the line of fire.
Book stores closed in Denver – RIP
$2 Buck Books, 850 S. Monaco Parkway – August 2015.
Bargain-in-Books, 35 W Floyd Avenue, Englewood – Closed 2014.
Barnes & Noble, Denver Pavilions. Closed December 31, 2015 to make way for fashion retailer, Uniqlo.
Book Rack, 2701 W 10th St, Greeley, CO 80634. Full article on closing. November 2015.
The Book Nook, 629 E South Boulder Rd, Louisville, CO 80027 – October 2015 – They closed due to online selling fees rising which didn’t make sense to me. concentrate on online selling.
Neighborhood Bookstore, 5661 S Curtice St, Littleton, CO – “a warm and cozy bricks and mortar bookstore, has been in business since June 15, 1992. Unfortunately, we are closing our doors permanently on March 31, 2012. ”
Old Friends Books 2060 Youngfield, Lakewood, CO. Closed in 2012.
Timeless Tale, Woodlawn Center, 1500 W Littleton Blvd, Littleton, CO 80120. After three decades, closed October 2015 due to owner’s pursuing other interests.