In 1972, Sue Lubeck founded The Bookies Bookstore as a way to give back to her community. The little basement shop stood its ground in a strip mall off Mississippi and Colorado for over 50 years.
After Lubeck’s passing in 2021, Nicole Hann Sullivan—former owner of the BookBar—made the big decision, fresh out of the pandemic, to take the small shop into her own hands and hasn’t looked back.
“I really enjoyed working at the Bookies more than I ever thought I would, not that I ever thought I wouldn’t enjoy it, but I just really loved the strong, and very very deep-rooted sense of community that Sue had created,” Sullivan said.
Although the original location is now permanently closed, the new iteration of Bookies will be a welcoming “breath of fresh air,” according to Sullivan. Located off Holly and Evans, the shop will feature wood floors, sky-high ceilings, comforting natural light to keep the nostalgia alive, two fireplace lounges, and a private meeting room for book clubs. Sullivan hopes the new space will allow the shop to host community events it hasn’t had room for until now. The new location is expected to open in early spring 2024.
“We’re going to have an educator section just for teacher supplies, and lots of teacher supports we’re planning,” Hann Sullivan said. “We’ll have spaces for tutoring, and for like reading sessions, for teacher planning, but more community gathering spaces because we really didn’t have that at the previous location.”
While the physical move only took a week, the re-opening has been anything but quick. Sullivan encountered several obstacles like a slow permitting process and mechanical issues due to the age of the building. The complications prevented the shop from reopening before the holidays in September.
Despite not having its new brick-and-mortar location yet, Bookies continues to sell online. Sullivan may not have the same kind of overhead with electricity bills or mortgage payments, but she does have a team of employees still on the payroll.
“Since we don’t have a store, I’ve been trying to keep everybody on pay, and you know, giving people projects and keeping people as busy as possible. So that’s been difficult,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan has taken the temporary closing as an opportunity to reconsider how and where she can strengthen the business. She’s been hard at work using a loving but critical eye to find ways to preserve the heart of the shop, and Lubeck’s mark, while not shying away from updating the business.
“There are some things I’ve learned from, and some things that I see that I’m like, ‘‘Oh, okay!” We can improve upon this process,’ Sullivan said. “I feel like there’s a lot of give and take. I’m learning a lot but then I’m also contributing, so that feels good.”
Sullivan also has plenty of experience herself having established BookBar on Tennyson Street, which closed almost a year ago. Having been through the challenges posed by a difficult location, she knew it was time to move The Bookies despite its historical significance. Tucked back in the corner of the strip mall and a block away from a Barnes & Noble, Sullivan wanted to find a more easily recognizable space for Bookies. Loyal, older customers of the shop knew of the somewhat secret location, but the owner was concerned about future generations.
“The Bookies was kind of tucked back into the corner of that strip mall, and so, you really had to know where it was,” Sullivan said. “This building is just a couple of miles away from the previous location, and it allows us to have more presence. It’s right on Holly and Evans, and it’s a stand-alone building, we’ll have our own signage. People aren’t just going to drive by it and never know it’s there like the previous location.”
In addition, with rent at their old location only increasing, Sullivan wanted to invest in Bookies’ future.
“I’m just a big believer in—for small business and especially bookstores that have very very low margins—if you can somehow find a way to purchase your own property to run that business in, you have such a higher chance of success,” Sullivan said.
While undertaking the daunting task of acquiring a business with as much history as Bookies, Sullivan has been grateful to have her team beside her. Some employees are going on 20 years at Bookies, with stories just as unique as the books on their shelves.
“It’s weird going into a business where all of your employees have been there for decades and know way more than you do. So that was very humbling but in a good way,” Sullivan said.
Each employee has contributed to the business throughout the years, whether through founding teacher registries to support Denver schools or handling book donations. Their support is one of Sullivan’s biggest motivations, as her team, each with goals of their own, inspires her every day.
“It feels so nice to be able to work with people—they have a bigger purpose for coming to work,” Sullivan said. “You know, it’s not just coming to work and getting a paycheck and then clocking out and you’re done, this is part of who they are and part of their lives.”
The Bookies has always had a reputation for having an abundant variety of merchandise in an undeniably small space. It’s likely to find works from the late 1800s among today’s best sellers. It’s also the spot to get your fixin’ of chachkis. That left Bucket List wondering, what happens to all the merchandise during a move? Luckily, according to Sullivan, storage hasn’t been an issue, given the new location has significantly more space, with a 2,000-square-foot warehouse in the back for inventory.
Despite the move being anything but easy, Sullivan has been grateful for the time. Not needing to worry about in-store sales, Sullivan has had the space to reflect and really dig into the ways she can make the Bookies the best it can be by tackling and rethinking all the moving parts of the shop, one at a time. From Lubeck’s basement to their 50-year-old shop, to their future home, the Bookies has been a special place. With a deep love for community, The Bookies Bookstore has carried the love of books through the decades, as it continues to serve book lovers young and old in Denver.
“Every business will say, ‘Oh, we’re like a family,’ and most of the time it’s just lip service, but at the Bookies, it’s genuine,” Sullivan said.
Loved the Bookies! Went often when i worked nearby and ny children were young. Best children’s books!