As BookBar shutters, owner readies new concept, addresses workplace complaints

The plight of unbiased bookstores within the age of Amazon appears easy: dwell or die.

However the Jan. 31 closing of BookBar, a drink-and-read idea that opened a decade in the past in Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood, is extra sophisticated. Varied forces, from burnout and a minimal wage enhance to proprietor Nicole Sullivan’s rising nonprofit and her different bookstore, The Bookies, have made it unimaginable to proceed operating BookBar, she mentioned.

On prime of that, Sullivan has turn into controversial on this planet of bookselling. She stop the American Booksellers Affiliation final spring in protest of its new insurance policies elevating bookstore staff and condemning racist books — one thing that she noticed as an anti-First Modification stance — and navigating employees turnover and nameless social media complaints about BookBar’s office tradition.

She hasn’t backed down within the face of these, and the success of her different initiatives hints that she received’t really be buying and selling work for the quiet life anytime quickly.

“Over the previous three years I saved pondering, ‘I don’t know if I can proceed this,’ ” Sullivan mentioned. “I’ve missed out on so many household and buddy issues in an effort to run a enterprise like BookBar.”

The shop, which opened in 2013 at 4280 Tennyson St., was distinctive within the metro space, and there’s a purpose for that. Skinny margins on each alcohol and e book gross sales immediately set Sullivan’s two-in-one idea on a tough path. Consequently she’s barely been capable of pay the payments and make payroll over the previous decade, she mentioned.

“The ultimate piece was when the announcement got here out concerning the minimal wage enhance,” she mentioned, referring to the state legislation that took impact Jan. 1, requiring employers to pay at the least $17.29 per hour. She’s all the time paid above that, she mentioned, however this newest enhance was too excessive to proceed that committment.

“I’ve been attacked by lots of people for ever bringing this up as a part of the choice,” she mentioned. “Nevertheless it’s merely a reality. We can not change the worth of books and haven’t any management over our margins. It’s onerous to make that work.”

BookBar has by no means turned a revenue, Sullivan mentioned. She’s been capable of maintain it open as a consequence of her private investments, whereas her different ventures have confirmed extra self-sustaining. Sullivan will dedicate extra time to her two youngsters and her husband after she closes BookBar, however she’ll proceed along with her different large issues: The Bookies bookstore at 4315 E. Mississippi Ave., which Sullivan purchased in 2021, alongside along with her nonprofit group, BookGive, and writer BookBar Press (or the 3Bs, as she calls them).

The Bookies, a 50-year-old bookstore that’s largely staffed by educators, is paying about $11,000 monthly to lease its present house and wishes to seek out one other one close by. Against this, Sullivan owns the constructing BookBar resides in and is planning on turning it into an yet-to-specified neighborhood cultural house — and never essentially a espresso store.

“There might be no free wifi,” Sullivan mentioned with amusing, “so folks might be pressured to speak face-to-face.”

She hopes to re-open the house later this 12 months with a few unnamed nonprofit companions. She guarantees that when you like “artwork, music, meals, drinks, training, dialog…  you’re going to like what we’re bringing to Tennyson Avenue [in] fall 2023.” She is not going to be operating the house, she mentioned.

Sullivan’s nonprofit BookGive, in the meantime, is barreling towards a quarter-million e book donations because it was based in 2019. It’s been funded partially by 10 p.c of the e book gross sales at BookBar and Bookies, in addition to Sullivan’s personal cash. She plans to rent one other individual this 12 months to help govt director Melissa Monforti, at present the one worker. The fast-growing 501c3 wants it, Sullivan mentioned, having given away greater than 84,000 books to 200 nonprofit companions in 2021 alone.

The books usually go to varsities, public libraries, prisons, secure homes for girls and “any group that’s in want of books,” Sullivan mentioned.

Supporters of BookBar expressed disappointment when Sullivan introduced the closure in September because it was one in every of a only a few unbiased e book shops in Denver.

“They actually turn into a part of your little e book neighborhood — not simply the place you possibly can go see your e book on cabinets, however as a hub for occasions, inspiration and creator meet-ups,” wrote Denver-based creator and editor JC Peterson by way of e-mail. “So shedding a spot like BookBar feels lots like shedding a buddy.”

However some noticed it as an indication of the continuing strife within the indie bookstore world round censorship, fairness and freedom of speech. In April, Sullivan stop the American Booksellers Affiliation over what she mentioned have been restrictive modifications to their free speech and First Modification insurance policies — typically pushed by youthful staff who painted bookstore homeowners as hostile to social justice efforts.

“Our discussions across the First Modification collided with our acknowledged objective of being antiracist and equitable. The rationale for that is that, mechanically, if the First Modification retained its place and we adopted it completely as its advocates throughout the membership would love us to, the ABA wouldn’t be positioned to sentence racist, anti-semitic, homophobic, and transphobic speech (and books), however may really be compelled to help it,” the ABA has written on its web site.

“We imagine forcing our BIPOC, transgender, and/or LGBTQIA2S+ booksellers to witness their commerce affiliation debate dehumanizing choices resembling these is unacceptable.”

However in an open letter to Shelf Consciousness, Sullivan wrote, “What we’re arguing in opposition to is the vilification of books and the refusal by some booksellers to SELL (i.e., particular order) titles or authors with which they disagree. … In that method, we are going to actively slim our collective buyer base to solely those that align with our politics. That may really feel snug and ‘secure’ however how will that pay our payments? … My retailer is way from the one one which has skilled this.”

The Tattered Cowl additionally confronted confronted criticism over the way it dealt with an announcement about racial justice throughout the George Floyd protests in summer time 2020. That led to damaged partnerships, low morale and resignations, following by new possession.

One other e book vendor, Rebecca Speas responded to Sullivan in her personal open letter, revealed on Medium, through which she argued that Sullivan’s actual purpose for leaving the ABA had nothing to do with the First Modification. “Behind her strawman argument about how variety is one thing that may ‘upend the (ABA)’s identification and mission’ is the true difficulty on the coronary heart of Nicole Sullivan’s exit from the ABA: staff’ rights, and particularly marginalized staff’ rights,” Speas wrote.

The Denver Put up spoke with present and former BookBar staff for this story who backed that declare, saying Sullivan mistreats her staff. Nameless accounts essential of Sullivan have additionally popped up on Twitter and Instagram.

Sullivan denies the allegations and mentioned a lot of the perceived strife is subjective. “I don’t let private politics get in the best way of buyer alternative,” she mentioned.

“5 years in the past the idea of promoting a e book to a buyer and taking your personal private viewpoint out of that transaction was not even somewhat bit controversial. One of many worst issues we may do is create disgrace round studying.”

Subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter, In The Know, to get leisure information despatched straight to your inbox.