CHICAGO — Permanent Records is leaving West Town after 11 years on Chicago Avenue.
The store, which sells an expertly curated collection of new and used vinyl at 1914 W. Chicago Ave., plans to close up shop after Sept. 17, it announced in an email Monday.
The owners of Permanent found success in Los Angeles in recent years, opening two stores in L.A. neighborhoods since 2011.
While the Chicago shop was long-considered Permanent's flagship location, operating out of both cities required a lot of travel for owners Lance Barresi and Liz Tooley, Barresi said in an email to customers. So when the Chicago staff agreed to join them in L.A., they decided not to renew their lease.
After closing in Chicago, the owners will move Permanent Records' remaining inventory to its second location in Los Angeles. The move is not a "setback," the owners wrote, but a "move forward."
"Our plan at this point is to move the remaining inventory and the miscellaneous leftover items in the shop to LA, but we are open to considering offers on the business as it exists currently," Barresi wrote. "So if you’ve ever considered owning a record store in Chicago and/or buying the entirety of our inventory, now is the time to step up and say something."
If you do want to make an offer for the Chicago store or its inventory, you can email PermanentWax@gmail.com.
"This was a very difficult decision for all of us ... but we believe that we will be a much stronger team all together in the same city," Barresi wrote.
