A rumor has been floating around that The Book Rack may close; while it isn't closing officially at the moment, whether it remains open beyond February will likely depend on whether someone buys the store to keep it running. The previous owner, Sally Jo Tibbetts, passed away last year, and the business is now for sale.
A glance at The Book Rack's history as a now-dissolved franchise
The Book Rack is a group of independently owned book stores with locations across the country, and they offer both new and lightly used books. Originally, Cheyenne's Book Rack was part of a franchise that, at one point, included 300 stores across the country, mentions Your Arlington's Marjorie Howard. The franchise part of the business has long-since been dissolved, and these days, each location appears to be independently owned and operated.
 Book Rack sign displayed above the entry to the Cheyenne store - Optopolis |
The Book Rack's main website indicates there are approximately 80 Book Rack stores left in the United States, although that number is probably less as of the time of writing; the Arcadia, California store (for instance) is still listed even though it closed last year.
Cheyenne's Book Rack History
The Book Rack of Cheyenne dates back to 1984, and it used to be located on East Pershing Boulevard, approximately where Farmer's Insurance is today; Book Rack would've resided in the building west of then-Buttrey's / today-Albertson's.
 Cheyenne's Book Rack once would've been located in this strip plaza along E Pershing Blvd, based on the address listed for the business way back when. Most likely, it would've been approximately in the vicinity of today's Farmer's Insurance. - Optopolis |
Wyoming Tribune-Eagle reported in their issue dated March 24, 1995 that The Book Rack relocated to Cheyenne Plaza on December 1st, 1994. WTE also reported that Ransook Gignac and his wife, Ray Gignac, had purchased Cheyenne's Book Rack in 1994. In the report, Gignac shared their interests in expanding the brand to other parts of Wyoming to, "share our love of reading."
Fast-forward to June 1997, and Cheyenne's Book Rack was for sale once again. The Sentinel's segment, INSIDER, displays an ad that states, "GREAT OPPORTUNITY! (Especially for the reading enthusiast.) The Book Rack, located at 3583 E. Lincolnway, is available. Asking $57,500. NO real estate, just plenty of inventory and supplies. Call Carol Dubay at [phone number redacted] or Bob Gissendanner at [phone number redacted]; or ERA The Property Exchange at [phone number redacted]."
 The Book Rack Cheyenne can be seen here in 2026 - Optopolis |
Throughout the 2000s and until 2025, the owner of the Cheyenne Book Rack store was Sally Jo Tibbetts. As of mid-1999, Sally was a school teacher of 25 years as confirmed by Wyoming Tribune Eagle's issue dated May 18, 1999. Sally, her sister Sharon, and a couple others could often be seen working in their store as confirmed in part by a photo in which the four posed for, dated January 2008 according to a calendar in the background. In 2014, a copy of the Wyoming Tribune Eagle dated May 25 indicates that The Book Rack became an accredited business with the Better Business Bureau.
Sally, born on February 16, 1949, passed away on July 6, 2025 as confirmed by her obituary. "[Sally] taught for two years in Rawlins, Wyoming before starting her tenure at Dildine Elementary School in Cheyenne where she remained until her retirement." Sharon told Optopolis that in her (Sally's) later years, Sally was having some health issues arise.
The Book Rack (Cheyenne) is for sale and if not sold, will close
Cheyenne's Book Rack is for sale, and if it's not sold by around the end of February 2026, then the store will likely close, according to Sharon, Sally Jo Tibbett's sister. Sharon indicated they do have a tentative buyer in line, but it's not clear if the purchase will go through. Anyone interested in buying the store should get in touch with Sharon. A sign behind the checkout counter lists two phone numbers and tells prospective buyers to ask for Sharon; the phone numbers are:
 For Sale sign displays contact info for buyers interested in purchasing the store - Optopolis |
In early January, Optopolis discovered some rumors that The Book Rack may close, but online speculation left out key details that Sharon confirmed with Optopolis, discussed above. Optopolis also found a page in the Facebook MarketPlace that included info about the store being for sale, but some details listed are not entirely accurate at this point in time. Sharon said that if no buyers come forward and they do wind up closing the store, they will have some form of a closing sale to help get rid of books.
During Optopolis' visit on Wednesday, January 21st, the store was still fairly well stocked with books. At the front of the store were pre-packaged sets of mystery books; a sign above the packages says, "'No Return' books and 'surprise' wrapped books are $2.00 each." There was also a sign behind the check out counter labeled, "Wacky Wednesday," a sale which offers used regular size paperbacks at $1.00 each and used trade cover paperbacks at $5.00; it notes that when the sale is taking place, you can't make returns you can't use your trade credits.
| Various perspectives inside of Book Rack - Optopolis |
It's not currently clear to Optopolis what the future of The Book Rack looks like, a future which will likely depend on whether someone buys the shop.
What do you think?
Do you think someone should buy the Book Rack and keep it going? In the chance of the possible future where it doesn't continue operation, what should come of their space? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
PUBLISHED: 01/27/2026 at 11:48 AM
UPDATED: N/A
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