This Spring, Euclid Records will
be moving its entire stock of records, CDs, and other musically related items to
a new location, 19 N. Gore in Webster
Groves. The store will remain at 601 E. Lockwood until
Record Store Day Weekend, closing its doors at the end of business on Sunday,
April 21, 2013 and setting up shop approximately one mile down the road to open
on or about May 1.
Euclid Records has been in
business for 30 years, spending the first 20 years at two different store fronts
in the Central West End. After ten years
sharing the building on E. Lockwood with Cyrano’s Restaurant, economic
opportunity raised its head, and store owner Joe Schwab leapt at the chance to
purchase the building on Gore most recently occupied by the McHaughen and Burr
art gallery.
“We’re always looking to be
bigger and better, and this is a step up,” says Schwab. “This is a beautiful
spot, completely rehabbed about ten years ago.” Unlike the current location, the
new store will be two stories, with a better integration of musical genres. New
and used LPs and CDs will be located in the same area of the store whenever
possible, grouped by genres so that, for example, jazz fans won’t have to run
all over the building to be able to see all their options when looking for a
particular recording.
The job of moving 100,000 plus
LPs and some 40,000 CDs, not to mention 1000 DVDs and hundreds of books and
posters, will be relatively straightforward compared to previous moves by the
business. “Last time when we moved, we were moving out of 2 locations, so that
was kind of a tricky move,” says Schwab. “Ten years ago we were looking for
fixtures to be able to house a bigger facility. We had to spend a lot of money
and do a lot of legwork to get fixtures and get extra stock. This time, we’re
set.”
In recent years, Euclid Records
has continued to thrive despite a nationwide change in buying patterns for
recorded music. Schwab never lost faith in LPs, continuing to sell them even
throughout the 90s when record companies virtually abandoned the format. In
recent years, LPs have shown tremendous growth, bringing a constant stream of
new customers to the store to pick up on the trend. Meanwhile, CD sales have
continued to be a strong component, as well, and books, posters, and DVDs have
provided further sales to the mix.
“I’m bullish on Euclid Records,”
Schwab says. “Besides, what else are we going to do with ourselves? We don’t
know anything else.”
