A storied life: Beloved founder of The Bookies bookstore passes away at 87
DENVER — For almost all of Rob Lubeck’s life, his mother, Sue, owned and operated The Bookies bookstore, a beloved community fixture in Denver’s Glendale neighborhood.
As Beverly Cleary once said, “If you don't see the book you want on the shelves, write it.” And that's exactly what Sue Lubeck did with The Bookies. In the early 70s, Sue felt that Denver's lone kids' bookstore wasn't kid-friendly enough, so she decided to open her own.
Sue opened The Bookies in 1971 as Rob, the youngest of her three sons, was gearing up for preschool. Over the course of five decades, Sue’s independent, family-owned store inspired countless young readers and served as an oasis for parents and teachers looking to cultivate future bookworms.
Sue passed away July 8, 2021, at 87 years old, about a month before the store was set to celebrate its 50th anniversary. She was surrounded by family, Rob said.
“My brother said she has probably already started The Bookies in heaven,” Rob told Rocky Mountain PBS with a big grin. “And we could just totally see her doing that.”
“Sue was a wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend and author of every good thing The Bookies ever was,” the store’s website reads. She leaves behind a world that is richer for her having been in it. A world where countless children learned to love reading. A world filled with more laughter and joy than it will have without her in it.”
Rob, 52, has hardly known life without The Bookies. Sue first opened the bookstore in the basement of the family home. The operation eventually expanded throughout the house.
“Which was interesting, to say the least,” Rob recalls. “I would come home from school and kids would be running around my house, they’d be playing in my room. People would be shopping in our living room and basement. Which was fun at some points, then there was the other side of it where my mom would never say no to anybody.”
Rob recounts instances where the Lubecks were eating dinner as a family and the doorbell would ring: A procrastinating shopper would be at the door, waiting to pick out a last-minute birthday gift for a friend, and Sue could never turn them away.
But that never-say-no attitude surely contributed to The Bookies’ longevity and community spirit. After a decade of running the business out of the Lubeck home, Sue opened a brick-and-mortar location at 6th and Ogden but quickly outgrew the space and moved to the store’s current location on E. Mississippi Ave.
“I’m proud of her for what she was able to create here,” Rob says, sitting in a corner of The Bookies, surrounded by children’s books. “In the early ‘70s, for a woman to start their own business was pretty rare and unique, and she had the goal and drive to make that happen. And I’m just so incredibly proud of what she was able to create.”
For those not familiar with the space, The Bookies is tucked in a corner of an L-shaped strip mall between a nail salon and a catering company. Not particularly glamorous from the outside (save for a flourishing garden), the building’s exterior is a mustard yellow with an unpretentious green sign. The windows are covered in posters aiming to inspire the next generation of readers: Snack, Nap, Read, one sign reads.
But to step inside The Bookies is to enter a kaleidoscope of literature—a sea of bookshelves jam-packed with colorful spines extends in every direction, creating a maze that leads you through fiction, nonfiction, poetry and toys. It is a nice maze to get lost in.
A new addition to the store is a memorial for Sue. On a small table near the check-out sits a guest book in which shoppers and staff have penned condolences and their favorite memories. Pictures of Sue and The Bookies over the decades are scattered on the table, as are sympathy cards and a clipping from a 2014 profile of Sue in The Denver Post that described her as a “literary Johnny Appleseed in the Mile High City.”
“Whenever I ask a parent if they read to their children growing up and they say yes, I then ask them if they were good students,” Sue is quoted as saying in the profile. “The answer is always yes, so there’s a direct correlation.”
What is apparent is that Sue’s mission for The Bookies to cultivate new readers, as well as provide resources for parents and teachers, has been a lasting one. As much as 95 percent of the store is catered toward children, families and teachers, Rob estimates. And while you won’t struggle to find the latest works from Zadie Smith, Colson Whitehead, or other contemporary adult novelists that are available at most bookstores, you’d be hard pressed to find a Denver store that has a better selection of children’s books.
“That was her focus from day one,” Rob said of his mom. “She loved supporting kids and the people that taught kids or raised kids.”
For loyal customers and longtime employees (there are many of each, and the former often turn into the latter), Sue felt like a family member.
Patricia Macy started working at The Bookies after retiring from Denver Public Schools, where she worked as a requisition secretary, often ordering books from Sue. (The Bookies employs numerous former educators and librarians.)
Macy recalls that anytime an employee became a grandparent, Sue would send the parents of the grandchild a $100 gift card to The Bookies. It was another one of Sue’s tactics of nurturing future bibliophiles.
“We considered her family,” Macy said.
“She was an incredible mom to the three boys and our wives,” Rob added. “She has been an incredible grandmother. The people, the community— she treated everyone with such respect and such gratitude that everyone kind of felt that she was one of their best friends. She would go out of her way and do anything anytime anybody had any kind of request. I think she even enjoyed the challenge where a customer would want a unique book. She would spend hours and hours to go find this book for a customer, and customers would be thrilled.”
To hold onto a business for 50 years is an incredible accomplishment, especially in a city that is growing and changing like Denver, and it’s clear how hard Sue worked to make that happen. What’s less clear is if it ever really felt like work to Sue. Rob said the store was part of his mom’s heart and soul, and that she was even hesitant to take vacations because it meant being away from the action.
“This was one of her babies,” Rob explained, “and she really wanted to leave the earth still having it here and under her control.”
And while Sue was able to achieve that goal—Rob said the family gently approached her about selling The Bookies when she was in her eighties and she wouldn’t entertain the conversation—the last year and a half has been eventful, to say the least.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sue spent less time in the store to limit potential exposures. Rob said she still ran the business from home. And The Bookies, it should be noted, thrived during the pandemic as many independent bookstores struggled to stay afloat. Rob attributes that to the store’s dedicated staff and support from the community— the results of the foundation Sue laid 50 years ago.
“They still wanted to support [The Bookies] and they still wanted these books,” Rob said of the community. “The store is doing better this year than it has in many years. Everybody, I think, is just tired of buying online. It has been phenomenal.”
But now, the big question mark: what will the future of The Bookies look like? Rob is the only one of the three brothers who stayed in Denver, and he explained that his family does not have the time or, frankly, the energy needed to take over the ownership. So they’re looking for buyers. Rob said it is important that the next owners share Sue’s dedication to young readers.
“Our ideal goal is to find somebody, or an organization or a group of people, to really kind of continue the legacy of The Bookies, but also inject some modernism into the store,” he said.
Rob recalled situations where new shoppers will visit the bookstore and say things like, “How long have you guys been here? I’ve never seen you before.” To Rob, that is a sign that the future owners could put more work into digital marketing and promotion on social media.
Still, those situations are scarce, and Rob says it is rare that he meets someone in Denver who doesn’t have some connection to The Bookies. After all, three or four generations of readers have passed through the store.
“This has been a big part of my life and I’ve got two kids—9 and 12—and it has been a big part of their life growing up as well,” Rob said.
The Bookies is celebrating its 50th anniversary Saturday, August 14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the store (4315 E. Mississippi Ave). Visitors can expect live entertainment, grab bags, and 75% off discounts.
With Sue’s passing, the celebration takes on an even greater significance, but Macy doesn’t expect the mood to be somber. She admits that she and her fellow employees first had to process some shock and grief after Sue’s passing, but now they’re looking forward to the celebration.
“I think that it’s going to make a lot of people happy,” Macy said. “And that was one of Sue’s themes—she really wanted people to be happy. And she would find any book, find any toy, if it would make somebody happy. I think the party will make her happy.”
The Lubeck family is holding a celebration of life for Sue on Sunday, September 19 at the Washington Park Boathouse. It is open to "anyone touched by this amazing woman’s life." More details are available here.
Kyle Cooke is the Digital Media Manager for Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach him at kylecooke@rmpbs.org.
Jennifer Castor is the Executive Producer of Multimedia Content at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at jennifercastor@rmpbs.org.