In a customer "update on Tattered Cover's sale process," the Denver, Colo., bookstore wrote, "All of us here at Tattered Cover are excited about this next chapter and the significant resources that our new owners will provide toward continuing our mission as Colorado's beloved iconic bookstore. We will continue to operate as Tattered Cover with the same staff in the same store locations."
Barnes & Noble has offered $1.83 million to buy the store, including $50,000 in back rent and $1.6 million in secured debt. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver must approve the deal, and closing should take place by the end of the month.
The store noted that Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt, "who himself still owns and operates several bookstores in the United Kingdom," visited the store last week and was interviewed by the Denver Post. Tattered Cover urged customers to read the interview, in which Daunt emphasized that B&N's plan is to support the store staff. "Barnes & Noble isn't coming in, as such," he said. "It's providing all of the structure. We're there to provide all that is necessary for the teams to run a good bookstore. Tattered Cover is going to figure out how it becomes Tattered Cover again."
Daunt also pointed to his statements when taking over as managing director and CEO of Waterstones and B&N, respectively, that he wanted staff to run the stores as independent booksellers would. "It's the store team that runs a good bookstore, whether it's the Barnes & Noble in Fort Collins or Tattered Cover here," he said. "Some of it will do it brilliantly, some of them will do it shockingly awfully and some of them in between."
Daunt also expressed a particular admiration for Tattered Cover, saying, "I'm a student of other bookstores. I visited Tattered Cover in the past. It's obviously one of the great names in bookselling."