E
li Cox, owner of My Boy Tony barstools and now the building itself, aims to preserve the community spirit. "I just want to keep it as something good for the community," he said.

    Cox and business partner Mark Hansen purchased the 1,620-square-foot corner retail building at 4280 Tennyson St. for $1.6 million last week. The property includes an outdoor patio and a single apartment upstairs. Cox noted that the sale price of $957 per square foot was not significantly lower than the appraised value.

    The buyers took out a $1.2 million, 25-year loan with a variable interest rate from Alpine Bank. No outside investors are involved in the real estate deal. The bar business has a third partner, John Strieby, who was not part of the property transaction.

    Nicole Sullivan sold the building to Cox and Hansen after operating BookBar, a bookstore-bar hybrid, for about a decade before closing in early 2023. Sullivan had purchased the building for $685,000 in 2012 and never listed it for sale, instead offering it to Cox and Hansen when she decided to sell.

    Sullivan is preparing to move out of state and has sold her remaining bookstore, The Bookies. She still owns two other buildings, including one that houses her nonprofit, BookGive. For Cox, this purchase adds to his Tennyson real estate portfolio, which includes the liquor store at 4340 Tennyson St.

    Cox emphasized his commitment to preserving the character of Tennyson Street: "Without Tennyson Street, I would have nothing, and I want to make sure it stays the way it's always been."