Colorado Real Estate Journal - April 2, 2014
The first Tattered Cover Book Store opened in Cherry Creek North in 1971. It had 950 square feet. On July 12, Joyce Meskis, who purchased the nationally known bookstore in 1974, will open the fourth Tattered Cover in the revamped Union Station. It will have 922 square feet. While it is the smallest in size of her stores – which include the LoDo Tattered Cover about a block away from Union Station, an East Colfax Avenue store that replaced the former flagship store in Cherry Creek North, and one in Highlands Ranch – Meskis is thrilled about the next chapter in the life of her storied bookstores, which the New York Times back in 1989 proclaimed that “many people in the book business consider the best general bookstore in the United States.” Just as you can’t judge a book by a cover, you can’t judge the newest Tattered Cover by its size. “We’re really excited about it,” Meskis said. “We kind of think of it as an abridged edition. We think it is going to complement our LoDo store” at the 16th Street Mall and Wynkoop streets, which has “12,000 square feet and change.” The Union Station Tattered Cover probably will be a little heavier on carrying best-sellers, and also will include newspapers and magazines, she said. “It is going to be a newsstand,” Meskis said. “It is going to serve people taking the train,” which in 2016 will include a line to Denver International Airport, she said. It also will cater to guests staying at the 112-room Crawford Hotel that Sage Hospitality is developing at Union Station. “We will be selling sundries – you know, the kind of things people forget when staying in hotels, like razors and shampoo,” she said. It is a bit unusual for retailers to open stores a block from each other. Even Starbucks isn’t doing that as aggressively as it did prior to the real estate downturn that started in 2008. “We feel there is going to be some overlap, obviously, but for the most part we think it will allow us to grow our business at the LoDo Tattered Cover,” she said. Staff at the Union Station store will refer customers to the nearby LoDo store for a different experience. Also, staff at the LoDo store will tell customers about the Union Station Tattered Cover, she said. Pat McHenry of Larimer Associates, a developer of Union Station, approached Meskis about a year ago. The timing was perfect “because we were going through some internal housekeeping” in the LoDo store, as the owner of the historic building wanted the second and third floors for other uses. The Tattered Cover now uses only the first-floor space, instead of all three levels, as it did for years after Meskis and (now Gov.) John Hickenlooper first opened it in 1990. (Soon after it opened, Meskis realized she had to bring in other investors to keep it going and now only owns “a very small” part of the building. Hickenlooper no longer has an interest in the building.) As with the historic Morey Mercantile Building, which houses the LoDo Tattered Cover, the Union Station building also is a historical gem. “You know how much we like historical buildings,” Meskis said. “The Union Station is such a beautiful building with that great ceiling and gorgeous woodwork,” she said. “We just love it. We are working with the folks at Union Station to pull it all together and they are just doing a wonderful, thoughtful job,” said Meskis, who has not hired her own architect for the space. McHenry said the Tattered Cover is a natural fit for Union Station. “We knew as a transit center that there would be lots of people coming to the facility, as well as staying at the hotel, so it would be logical to have a place that has the types of products they sell - books, magazines – as well as the kind of convenience store items she is going to add.” Before McHenry approached even one tenant, she and Larimer Associates hosted numerous focus groups with neighbors. “One thing that came in loud and clear is that Union Station is part of Colorado’s history and people wanted the tenants to be Colorado-based, not national chains,” McHenry said. In addition to the Tattered Cover, other local tenants include the Milkbox Ice Creamery, Eatmore Burgers & Brats, Pigtrain Coffee, Cooper Lounge, Terminal Bar, Bloom, Fresh Exchange, the Mercantile Dining & Provision, Stoic & Genuine Fish, Snooze, an A.M. Eatery and the Kitchen Next Door. The Tattered Cover is not the only new tenant with national reputation. “Chef Jennifer Jasinksi (who will open Stoic & Genuine Fish) has been recognized nationally,” for her cooking prowess, McHenry said. McHenry said even if she weren’t on a mission to bring local tenants to Union Station, she would have pursued the Tattered Cover. “I not only want local tenants, but I want the best tenants,” McHenry said. “When it came to a bookstore, as far as I was concerned, there was only one choice and that was the Tattered Cover. I never even considered talking to anyone else. We are just so excited to finally have them signed. We are thrilled that Tattered Cover is coming to Union Station.”