New Bookstore Cafe Promises a Bit of Paris on Delaware Street

By Kevin Collison

Two attorneys are hoping to bring a little bit of Paris to Delaware Street this summer with a new bookstore, cafe and bar called Our Daily Nada.

Amy Covitz and Andrea Baca are anticipating a June 15 opening for their establishment at 304 Delaware in the River Market, next door to The Farmhouse restaurant.

Covitz said they were inspired by Shakespeare and Company, a world-renowned Parisian bookstore and cafe with outdoor seating and a view of Notre Dame.

The name comes from a line in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” a short story by Ernest Hemingway.

Amy Covitz

“Bookstores are coming back and bookstore bars are coming back in a lot of cities,” Covitz said.

“It’s going to be a very European cafe circa the 1920s, Hemingway inspired. Very art deco with lots of reading spaces…a peaceful place to come to read and have a drink in a calm atmosphere.”

In addition to new and used books, Our Daily Nada will offer a wine bar, local craft beers and craft cocktails.

Covitz said chef Carlos Mortera of The Bite in the River Market has agreed to prepare light fare including soups, small plates, charcuterie boards and vegetarian dishes.

As for the books.

“It will be a general interest bookstore with a robust food section, art, fiction…We haven’t solidified all the sections yet,” she said.

Covitz and Baca became friends in 2010 while working at a downtown law firm.

The partners plan to host author events, story hours and book clubs at Our Daily Nada as well. The plan calls for 10 seats at the bar, several bistro tables and comfortable couch and chair for lounging.

Covitz became interested in starting her own retail business after helping her husband, Jeff, open Houndstooth, a men’s clothing shop at 507 Walnut St.

“I loved the process and I had this bookstore idea for 10 years,” she said.

As part of her planning, Covitz reached out to the owner of the Book Bar, a Denver bookstore, and traveled there to learn about its operation first hand. She also is a fan of Rainy Day Books in Fairway and the Prospero’s Books on 39th Street.

The women signed a lease on the 2,600 square-foot space last month and will take occupancy in April. Its one of several late 19th Century buildings along Delaware purchased last year by Denver developer Craig Slawson.

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Shakespeare and Company, a popular Paris bookstore and cafe, is the inspiration for Our Daily Nada. (Photograph by Mike Peel)