Denver, Colo. (KDVR) — Two locations of Tattered Cover Bookstore permanently closed Saturday, Westminster and Colorado Springs, and the McGregor Square location is set to close its doors sometime next week.

It’s part of the company’s chapter 11 bankruptcy filing from earlier this week. A chapter 11 claim is more so for the reorganization of a company facing some financial difficulties to get back on track.

And that’s exactly what Tattered Cover’s CEO Brad Dempsey says was their goal, that this bankruptcy and store closures are a tactic for the longevity of Tattered Cover, while also recognizing the sadness behind the closures.

“It’s a very sad day for our employees at those two stores and the communities around those two stores,” Dempsey said.

He says after realizing some hardship ahead they listened to their publishing partners who told them they needed to close some stores. While they do this, they say they are focusing on quality over quantity.

But how did Tattered Cover, a popular staple in the metro, get to this point?

“We expanded pretty rapidly over the last couple of years, you know on the heels of COVID and moving into downtown Denver and McGregor locations where, unfortunately, the demographics and the foot traffic in some of these areas just didn’t quite meet the projections we had expected going into these projects,” Dempsey said.

The books left the closing store’s shelves, hitting the shelves at the remaining four stores: Colfax, Aspen Grove, Union Station and Stanley Marketplace.

“Immediately we are going to use $350,000 of our new million-dollar credit facility to immediately start buying books on Monday,” Dempsey said. “So within the next few weeks, the stores are going to be transformed with inventory both from the other stores and the new inventory coming directly from our publishers.”

As for the employees at those closing stores, this is affecting at least 27 staff positions. Tattered Cover told FOX31 that severance packages were given to those let go, and they were welcomed to fill out temporary seasonal positions.