DENVER — A beloved small business, BookBar, is having its last holiday shopping season.
The store has been on Tennyson Street for the last ten years and plans to close on Jan. 31.
It's a place that has a book for everyone, including 6-year-old Audrey Turgeon.
"If they don't have pictures. I don't really like it," she said while flipping through pages. "But, it's okay if there's no pictures, you still get to hear what's happening."
She just learned how to read this year, and already knows what makes a good story.
"I kind of like reading," said Turgeon. "That's kind of my thing."
"Hearing a little girl say how much she loves books and loves to read, that's what it's all about," said Nicole Sullivan, owner of BookBar.
Sullivan said she's proud her small business became more than just a store.
“I’m proud of having created a community space where people can come and gather and just be," she said.
For the last several years, people have been coming to BookBar for regular story times, meeting authors, picking up a new read, or just to gather in-person with a glass of wine.
“I can’t even imagine how many great ideas have come out of this space that have then gone out into the world," she said.
Sullivan said she wants to preserve that feeling of community and togetherness, even if BookBar is no longer.
"I realized that I had just been working too hard for too long and something needed to change," said Sullivan.
So she's planning on repurposing the space BookBar has called home for the last decade.
"It's not going to go to developers," said Sullivan, who owns the building. "We are going to turn this into a collaborative community space, around literature. It won’t be a bookstore but there will be a literature component, music, art, food and beverage, education, and the whole focus and goal will be on bringing people together to collaborate on whatever it may be.”
It's a space she said is necessary, as development on Tennyson Street threatens to take away more businesses and places for the community.
“We’ve all seen a massive amount of change on this street from development and businesses coming and going," she said. “We own the building so the building will remain and I’m digging my heels in on that.”
She said the new space will be a departure from BookBar, but also an evolution of it.
"It's been a great ten years but not all good things have to last forever," said Sullivan.
Closing down the store is kind of like finishing a good book.
"There's a little bit of a mourning period there but you're so much better off for having read it," said Sullivan.
She said she hopes the next chapter will be just as good as the last.
On their closing day, Sullivan said they plan to have an all-day long celebration at BookBar. During the party, she'll also announce more details on what's next for the space.
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