Denver's Tattered Cover Bookstore Faces Bankruptcy, Store Closures, and Job Losses
Denver's iconic independent bookstore, Tattered Cover, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and will close three of its locations by November. The closures will result in the elimination of 27 jobs, about one-quarter of the company's workforce. Tattered Cover ran a deficit of over $660,000 between January and September and owes more than $1 million to publishers. The bookstore's CEO cited the need to focus on quality over quantity and reduce the store's footprint as advice from major publishing houses. The bankruptcy filing comes less than a year after the death of the former owner, Joyce Meskis, and follows allegations of workplace bullying and ageism during the tenure of the previous CEO.