Tattered Cover’s New Owners Begin Settling In

The iconic Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, Colorado, is undergoing a two-year transition that will see controlling interest in the business pass from longtime owner Joyce Meskis to book industry veterans and Len Vlahos and Kristen Gilligan.

Kristen Gilligan and Len Vlahos

Vlahos and Gilligan, who are married, arrived in Denver in late June, settling into a new home with sons Charlie, 7, and Luke, 4. From their house on a quiet cul-de-sac, Vlahos said the ever-present backdrop of the Rocky Mountains is a reminder of this new chapter for the family.

“We both grew up in the New York Metro area,” said Vlahos. “All our family and friends are there and it was a great place to be raising a family, but from a lifestyle and pace-of-life perspective, we were ready for a change.”

The couple officially joined Tattered Cover’s senior management team on July 1, beginning the process that will eventually transfer majority ownership to them. Meskis, who plans to retire, has owned the store since 1974.

“Joyce mapped out for us a really thorough and really excellent orientation,” Vlahos explained. “We’re spending time really learning every piece of the business,” including receiving, shipping, customer interaction, counter training, buying, and more.

Tattered Cover has four bookstore locations throughout the city of Denver, plus three at the Denver International Airport. “We are a very large, complex organism. Even though Kristen and I are well-schooled in bookselling and the book industry, it’s a lot to learn Tattered Cover’s operations and application of all of the things we thought we knew.”

Between the two of them, Vlahos and Gilligan have decades of experience in the book business. Just prior to joining Tattered Cover, Vlahos was the executive director of the Book Industry Study Group, which he said gave him “an incredibly broad perspective of the industry.”

Vlahos also spent 20 years at the American Booksellers Association in various roles; when he left in 2011, he was chief operating officer. He has also worked at a number of bookstores, including chain, university, and independent shops, and is the author of The Scar Boys (Egmont USA) and the forthcoming sequel, Scar Girl (CarolRhoda Lab/Lerner).

Gilligan was a bookseller at an independent bookstore throughout the 1990s, which led her to ABA, where she spent 10 years in a variety of roles, last serving as director of meetings and events. Following ABA, she worked on the children’s art auction held by the American Booksellers for Free Expression, on development for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, and on some non-book, culinary projects.

“We’re both career, lifelong book industry folk,” said Vlahos.

To assist Vlahos and Gilligan in adapting to their new ownership roles, Meskis and Matt Miller, Tattered Cover’s general manager, have tasked them with looking at all aspects of the business and its operations with fresh eyes, to identify any areas for improvement as they proceed through the orientation process. While it’s too early to talk about any possible changes, Vlahos is adamant about maintaining the spirit the store has carried for many years.

“Joyce established a philosophy for the store which cuts across three things,” said Vlahos. “We’re very customer-centric, we’re very community-focused, and we’re very First Amendment-focused. Kristen and I buy into that ethos a million percent.”

Vlahos and Gilligan have already taken on specific roles at the bookstore. Gilligan is serving as the children’s sidelines buyer and is helping review the operations of the cafés located in three of Tattered Cover’s locations.

Vlahos is working with Tattered Cover’s technology team to ensure the bookstore is prepared for the credit card industry’s transition to EMV chip card technology in October. “It’s a big deal,” said Vlahos. “It’s not a small change. In addition to this technology, there’s major staff training involved.” He is also working with an internal team on evaluating Tattered Cover’s entire point-of-sale system.

Working alongside staff at Tattered Cover has been incredible, Vlahos said. “It is like a great big family. It’s a really loyal, long-term staff, and I feel like we’re adopted members of the family.”

Even though Vlahos and Gilligan have been booksellers before, this is a new ballgame. “Sitting in this chair here and seeing our relationships with customers, with publishers, with authors, with ABA, and with our local municipalities — it’s just a different vantage point,” Vlahos said.

As the couple gets accustomed to life inside the bookstore, sons Charlie and Luke have also taken to it. “Charlie and Luke love the bookstore. At their very young age, they want to be involved a lot,” said Gilligan. Charlie even hand-sold a book the first week at the shop — a copy of Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems (Hyperion).

Meskis is leaving behind shoes no one can ever fill, noted Vlahos and Gilligan, but the two are aiming high. “Our vision for the future is to build on the legacy that’s already been established and use our own experiences to grow it,” said Vlahos. “What we’re buying into is the ethos and philosophy that Joyce has established, but we’re bringing our own perspective to it and figuring out how we can build on it.”

Vlahos and Gilligan are especially looking forward to Winter Institute 11, which will be held in January 2016 in Tattered Cover’s hometown of Denver

“We’re very excited to see all of our bookselling friends and colleagues in Denver in January,” said Gilligan. “It will be a real treat for us.”