Today we’d like to introduce you to John Kuebler.
John, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I first stepped into Kilgore as a customer in 2008, shortly after the shop first opened. After befriending the original owners, Luke Janes and Dan Stafford, I was offered a part-time job. Dan moved to D.C. in 2012, and in 2015 Luke was making plans to move to Detroit. That’s when they offered to sell me the bookstore. I officially took over in August 2015.
But the real story of my bookselling career can be traced back to my forays into The Bookworm, a little-used bookstore full of dust and cat hair near my grandma’s house in Kansas City. I used to buy single issue comics and James Bond paperbacks there, and I’ve been frequenting used bookstores and collecting books ever since.
Has it been a smooth road?
The first few months I thought, this is gonna be easy. But there was a lot more to learn than I realized. Buying and selling books is the fun part. The hard part is keeping track of every bill, every receipt, every mile, etc.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Kilgore Books – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Kilgore Books is a general used bookstore, carrying books in most subjects. We have lots of literature and sci-fi, and more trade size comics than most bookstores in Denver. We also make space for local zines, chapbooks, and comics, so that local writers and artists can get some exposure.
Kilgore has a reputation for having one of the best selections of used books in Denver. We work hard to cultivate that rep. It involves lots and lots of curated book buying and weeding out of stale titles. We want to keep our regulars happy, so we rotate new buys onto the shelves daily.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Denver is a great book town. The entire “food chain” is intact here. There are independent new bookstores (Tattered Cover), several quality used bookstores (Fahrenheit’s, Westside Books, etc.) and good books to be found at local thrift stores, garage sales, and library sales. What I like least is the lack of cultural diversity here compared to other major U.S. cities.
Contact Info:
- Address: 624 E. 13th Avenue (right next to Wax Trax!)
- Phone: 303-815-1979
- Email: kilgorebooks@yahoo.com
- Instagram: @kilgorebooksdenver
- Facebook: facebook.com/kilgorebooks/
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