Denver’s Famous ‘Tattered Cover’ Bookstores Have New Ownership

Tattered Cover bookstores have been in the Denver area since 1971; now coming up on their 50th year in business, a new group of Denverites hopes to keep the legendary bookstores going.

How many times have you ventured into a Tattered Cover? I think they're great: They're chock-full of books galore, a great atmosphere, events and Denver history.

According to their website, the first Tattered Cover opened in 1971 in the Cherry Creek area with just two employees. It was in 1974 that long-time owner Joyce Meskis bought that first store and grew the company, up until she sold it to its current owners in 2015.

Today, there are four Tattered Covers in the Denver area (plus several at DIA), with a new one coming to Westminster in 2021.

According to Denver7, the bookstores' current owners, Len Vlahos and Kristen Gilligan, have sold the business to a group of Denver-based investors that include the owner of the Colorado Rockies, Dick Monfort

The two men leading the group are Denver natives and will make Tattered Cover the first black-owned and operated bookstore in America.

With the closure of many local-owned independent bookstores such as Stone Lion Books (which closed in 2000), it's good to see the Tattered Cover keeping its doors open.

Get more on the new owners of Tattered Cover from Denver7 HERE.