From simple beginnings as a bookstore and restaurant, Poor Richard’s has evolved to become a downtown Colorado Springs landmark—a warm and friendly family of businesses under one roof that’s the only one of its kind in the country.

Richard Skorman was just 22 years old when he opened his first business, a used paperback store on North Tejon Street. Skorman was a senior at Colorado College when he had the opportunity to buy the stock from a book store that was closing.

Two years later, he expanded the business with a small inheritance, loans, and donated restaurant equipment. The idea of a bookstore where you could also get a bite to eat AND DRINK AN ESPRESSO was a novel idea at the time. Skorman wanted people to feel welcome at Poor Richard’s Feed & Read, to enjoy a comfortable place where they could hang out and not feel rushed. In the evenings, Skorman rolled back the bookshelves and pulled down a projection screen where he showed second-run independent, RIVIVAL and foreign films.

In 1982, Skorman rented an adjacent space and opened Poor Richard’s Bookstore & Cinema. With the bookshelves lining the walls of the space, it was a bookstore by day and a cinema by night (THE ONLY BOOKSTORE/CINEMA COMBINATION IN THE COUNTRY)  In 1992, Skorman expanded the bookstore into another adjacent space and sold the cinema to his friend Kimball Bayles who moved it two years later to a new location as Kimball’s Twin Peaks. This left an empty space at a time when the baby-boomer’s kids were coming onto the scene, inspiring Skorman and Seator to create Little Richard’s Toy Store.

In 2005, when Indy bookstores were going through an especially challenging time, Poor Richard’s Bookstore made space for Rico’s Café’ and Wine Bar and a thoughtful selection of gifts and cards. The mix of offerings saved a great home-grown bookstore and added further richness to the Poor Richard’s experience.

Poor Richard’s has evolved in many ways since its inspection in 1975, but that sense of a place where you feel at home has never changed.

Throughout its history, Poor Richard’s has been not only a downtown landmark and innovative business, but also an organization that strives to have a positive impact on our customers and our community.

• We proudly serve preservative-free, organic and local food whenever possible.
• We carry many fair-trade and sustainably produced merchandise.
• We serve and carry many local and Colorado-made products.
• We support local artisans and provide a venue for local musicians and artists.
• We recognize the importance of environmental sustainability and are committed to reducing our impact on the environment.
• We compost or donate all of our food waste and recycle the rest. We generate very little landfill trash due to our compost and recycle program.

• The 117 solar panels on our roof power our state-of-the-art electric, stone pizza ovens and light and cool our spaces and help power our neighbors when we aren’t fully using our own power.
• Powering up to half the energy used by all our businesses on a long summer day
• Producing 37,527 kwh’s since 11/11
• Preventing 74,968 pounds of CO2 from entering our Colorado skies in the first year of producing power

Poor Richard’s Feed and Read of Colorado Springs, “Where Everyone is out to lunch” was our t-shirt from long ago.

Imagine our surprise when Mac donned this old relic on Season 11 Episode 4 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia!

A lot has changed at Poor Richard’s since then.We’ve expanded to include a world class toy store, and a café & wine bar. Our tshirt has changed over the years as well.

We have created our latest t-shirt as a nod to our origins in the 1970s.