Denver Bookstore Petals & Pages Is Closing In April

It was October of 2023 when Dylah Ray opened Petals & Pages in a little storefront in the Art District on Santa Fe, planning on being that sort of neighborhood shop where people of all walks of life might feel welcomed, buy some books and some flowers, and have a place to gather. And it was, for two and a half years.

On March 30, the store at 956 Santa Fe Drive announced on Instagram that April 12 would be its last day open.

“Previously scheduled events will continue, but our last day of regular store hours will be on the 12th,” the post reads. “In the time we’ve been open, we’ve gotten thousands of queer books into the hands of the people who’ve needed them the most, and have become more than just a bookstore. We’ve connected with our community in the most transformative way and we will always be grateful for that.”

Owner Ray says the decision to shut the book has been looming for a while, due to high rent and low revenue. “We have stayed open every day that we possibly could,” she says. “We have pushed it to the very last minute, when it’s become clear that it’s not feasible to stay open.”

The closure comes not for lack of trying. “We really pulled out all the stops trying to keep it going,” says Ray. “We held a Keep Indies Alive party here at the store, done other forms of fundraising…but these are tough times for any retailer, especially one that deals in books.”

Petals & Pages will be open one more day beyond April 12 — not for retail, but for a farewell party on Saturday, April 25. That’s the date for Independent Bookstore Day, a national day of recognition for all the good work that booksellers do — and it’s something for which Petals & Pages has been the Colorado organizer these last couple of years. It’s only one example of the outreach to which Ray and the store have committed themselves.

And the community has turned out to honor that, in the wake of the news of Petals & Pages’ pending closure. “We’re just getting the most incredible, supportive messages from people,” says Ray. “It’s been so heartwarming, and also so sad, you know? That’s why we wanted to come back one more Saturday for Independent Bookstore Day. Just to have a chance to say thank you to everyone who came, and who were part of all this.”

Building community was part of Ray’s initial vision in founding Petals & Pages back in 2023. She grew up in Dallas, Texas, where she says as an LGBTQ+ youth, she didn’t see people like herself represented in a lot of books, both in terms of authors or their characters. “I was definitely still in the closet,” she says, “and I’ve always been an avid reader, and spent a lot of time in bookstores growing up. Having books like the ones we’ve been able to curate in the store, and having them available in a place where I felt like I belonged? So important.”

So it was by design that Petals & Pages was created to front-face underrepresented authors and their work. “In most bookstores, it’s just during Pride Month in which there are displays and tables of LGBTQ+ books. Our store had the reverse model: those books were the ones that faced out on our shelves every day.”

Ray says her most cherished memories of the store are too numerous to count: One of her favorite authors, Rebecca Makkai, coming to the store and talking about her work with aspiring writers. The way businesses came together after a rash of vandalism hit many stores, including Petals & Pages, working as one to put things right. And the reverent gathering of all the living Colorado poet laureates on the occasion of the untimely passing of poet Andrea Gibson.

In December, it hosted the book launch for Begin Where You Are, Colorado’s first poetry anthology with writing by the state’s first ten poets laureate.

But one of Ray’s favorite moments happened monthly. “We’d have these huge poetry slams,” recalls Ray. “Anywhere from sixty to 100 people, and every month someone would come in and say that this was the first poem they’d ever written a poem, or this is the first time they’re reading in front of an audience. They’d get up in front of the microphone and hear the support from the crowd for their work. And then they’d come back the next month with another poem, and read that one. And the next month, and the one after that. I’d see their writing develop, see that process firsthand. That’s one of the things I’ll remember for sure — the store filled to the brim with supportive people who all care about poetry and literature and the arts, and not only that, but who are welcoming each other into that space and cheering each other for taking that leap.”

Once the store is closed for good, Ray says she’ll keep working on her MFA and writing her own novel. “And I hope to remain a leader in the literary space and an advocate for the queer community in Denver. But how that will play out, how that might look, I’m not sure yet.”

So yes, it’s true that all stories end. “But the way I think about it is this,” Ray says. “The community building and the impact we were able to have on people and their experiences? That’s how I’m measuring our success. Petals & Pages was really both a community space and a bookstore, and in the end, we hit one of those two things out of the park.”

Petals & Pages, 956 Santa Fe Drive, will remain open normal hours through Sunday, April 12, and reopen for a celebration on Independent Bookstore Day, Saturday, April 25. For more information, keep an eye on the store website.