Platt Park children’s bookstore gets new owner

Second Star to the Right has been at 1455 S. Pearl St. since 2022. (Matt Geiger/BusinessDen)

Second Star is now on its second owner.

Joe Durst purchased Second Star to the Right and its real estate at 1455 S. Pearl St. in Platt Park from its founder for a combined $1.5 million on Monday.

“The heart and the soul will remain the same. We want it to be a friendly and inclusive place for everyone. We want it to be a place that offers a whole slate of events, not just books,” Durst said.

Seller Dea Lavoie, who founded Second Star 11 years ago, could not be reached for comment.

Durst, a 41-year-old Denver native who holds degrees in English and linguistics, is a bookworm. He co-owns a store in Castle Rock and spent his college years working in them. He speaks candidly about the impact of Amazon and online retail on the business model, along with the slim margins that get eaten away by publishers.

“There’s no bookshop that anyone has ever been to that also makes the books,” Durst quipped.

Even still, he sees a market for the tiny indie bookstore.

“There’s plenty of market share as long as we’re talking about a handful of well-run stores in town … There’s a reason why Barnes & Noble is on Colorado Boulevard and Second Star is on Pearl Street,” Durst said.

Durst said he’s had his eyes on the retail corridor for a while now. He first thought to buy or lease the house next door to Second Star several years ago and open a counterpart that would sell books for adults and “work in tandem” with Second Star. But that plan didn’t go anywhere.

Durst, who lives near the University of Denver, would get his chance to run a bookstore, though. Five years ago, he opened up Sudden Fiction with business partners Gina McReynolds and Christi Piper in Castle Rock. His niche there is “being the only bookstore in town.”

But Pearl Street kept calling.

When December rolled around last year, Second Star announced that it was searching for a new owner. Durst jumped on the opportunity.

“I didn’t want to drive to Castle Rock my whole life,” Durst said.

Despite moving quickly to become the bookstore’s second owner, he is in no rush to make changes fast. The roughly six-person team behind the store will work to expand its offerings a bit, though, providing more literature for adults and older folks.

That way, parents and kids can both walk out of Second Star with a book in hand.

“The people who were there know their jobs better than I do. So, I am trusting the institutional knowledge there to teach me, and then I can make informed decisions,” Durst said.

The bookstore has been at its current Pearl Street spot for the last three years after moving from another building a block away. Durst, who grew up around Wash Park, believes it’s perfectly situated in Denver’s “best business district.”

And as far as what products to stock the shelves with, Durst’s six-month-old son should keep him in the loop of what’s hot and what’s not.

“This is my son Auggie’s bookstore … he rolled in and took everything over.”