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Piles of books wait to be put on shelves at the iconic Tattered Cover’s new location in downtown Colorado Springs on Friday. Tattered Cover, the state’s largest independent bookstore, it set to open the first of the chain's shops outside of the Denver metro area in an 8,000-square-foot space at 112 N. Tejon St. on Tuesday. (Parker Seibold / The Gazette)
Tattered Cover store manager Leah Guest kneels in front of boxes of books as she works to get the store set up before opening day on Tuesday. (Parker Seibold / The Gazette)
Spencer Liles, a bookseller at Tattered Cover, organizes books on Friday. (Parker Seibold / The Gazette)
The iconic Tattered Cover, the state's largest independent bookstore, is set to open its first Colorado Springs location on Tuesday. CEO Kwame Spearman gives us an inside look at the new location. (Video: Jessica Snouwaert/The Gazette)
The iconic Tattered Cover, the state's largest independent bookstore, is set to open its first Colorado Springs location on Tuesday.
The 8,000-square-foot store is downtown in leased space at 112 N. Tejon St. in a more than century-old building. The building was previously home to Zeezo’s costume and magic shop and, before that, Bryan & Scott Jewelers. Now it will house 75,000 books by bestselling and independently published authors, a full-service bar and cafe, event space and a kids area.
Piles of books wait to be put on shelves at the iconic Tattered Cover’s new location in downtown Colorado Springs on Friday. Tattered Cover, the state’s largest independent bookstore, it set to open the first of the chain's shops outside of the Denver metro area in an 8,000-square-foot space at 112 N. Tejon St. on Tuesday. (Parker Seibold / The Gazette)
With seven other locations and three satellite stores at the Denver International Airport, the Colorado Springs store will be the first of the chain's shops outside the Denver metro area, with 15 employees between sales clerks and baristas.
Tattered Cover CEO Kwame Spearman said he set his sights on a Colorado Springs location after seeing the continued growth of the city.
"The vibrancy of downtown just comes out and slaps you," Spearman said this week. "You can just feel that something really cool is happening here."
Spearman intends for the shop to be a "community landing spot" where customers can grab a glass of wine, browse and read and buy books. He sees Tattered Cover's arrival as a way to raise the tide for all businesses and bookstores in the area by making downtown Colorado Springs even more of a destination residents and visitors want to frequent.
Tattered Cover store manager Leah Guest kneels in front of boxes of books as she works to get the store set up before opening day on Tuesday. (Parker Seibold / The Gazette)
Spencer Liles, a bookseller at Tattered Cover, organizes books on Friday. (Parker Seibold / The Gazette)
"Downtown Colorado Springs is in the midst of a renaissance and we are thrilled that Tattered Cover will become part of our downtown landscape and an important part of our growing community," Susan Edmondson, president & CEO of the Downtown Partnership of Colorado Springs, said. "Such an iconic brand in Colorado is destined to become a destination within downtown Colorado Springs and we look forward to seeing the store thrive here.”
To help ensure that success, the store will offer two- to three-day in-store or home deliveries for any book not available on-site.
"One of the things that all independent bookstores are trying to think through is how do we actually increase the size of our inventory without having to get physical inventory on it," Spearman said. "So one of the things Tattered Cover has down is we've partnered with wholesale providers."
The space utilizes the building's original design including skylights, exposed brick, metal beams and wooden floors. The opening Tuesday will unveil 75% of the store, including books, the bar and event areas. But the upper mezzanine area is anticipated to not open until four to six weeks later, as the second level is currently only reachable by stairs. Spearman said he is not sure what they will do with the area yet, but he is considering installing an elevator to ensure access for everyone.
The store is set to initially operate 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays. However, the store anticipates expanding hours to earlier in the morning to capitalize on morning coffee drinkers, store manager Leah Guest said.
Guest and her team have spent the days leading up to the opening receiving shipments, unpacking boxes, labeling books and shelving them.
"I'm super excited about it," Spearman said. "The demographic shifts and the total number of people coming to Colorado Springs make this a huge opportunity for us."
The downtown store may not remain Colorado Springs' only Tattered Cover; Spearman said previously the retailer will consider additional locations.
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Jessica is a reporter at The Gazette. Tips to jessica.snouwaert@gazette.com
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