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Permanent Records
Photograph: Martha Williams

West Town record store Permanent Records is closing

Zach Long
Written by
Zach Long
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There's been a glut of new record store openings in Chicago over the past few years, particularly in Wicker Park and Pilsen, where shops like Shuga Records, 606 Records, Pinwheel Records and the expanded Reckless Records have become destinations for crate diggers. However, there have been a few notable recent losses as well. Last year, Uptown's Shake, Rattle and Read and Logan Square's Saki Records closed their doors for good, and now another longtime favorite spot for vinyl lovers is about to sell its last LP.

In an announcement posted on its Facebook page this afternoon, the owners of West Town record store Permanent Record announced that the shop, which opened in 2006, will soon be shuttered. Owners Lance Barresi and Liz Tooley moved out to Los Angeles in 2011, opening a West Coast branch of the record store that has since expanded to encompass two additional L.A. shops. According to the post, Barresi and Tooley have decided to close the Chicago store and focus on their L.A. shops due to the fact that they "no longer have time to travel to Chicago on a regular basis." The two managers of the Chicago shop will be be moving to L.A. to take positions at other Permanent Records stores.

The West Town location of Permanent Records will be open through September 17 (which happens to be Riot Fest weekend), and will continue selling, buying and trading records in the interim. The owners of the shop are "open to considering offers on the business as it exists currently," but if no interested parties come forward to purchase the store, the remaining inventory will be moved to the three Permanent Records stores in L.A.

While it's sad to be losing another of Chicago's best record stores, we're taking solace in the fact that we still have a few more weeks to hunt for LPs at the West Town shop. Remember to support your local music retailers because nothing is permanent.

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