Portland, OR - Everyday Music (NE Sandy store) closing 5/7

Another Portland, OR store closing that hurts…

Everyday Music's NE Sandy store will be closing May 7th. ☹️ From what I heard, the land/building have been sold for commerical redevelopment.

They will still have their downtown location on Burnside, but I've always found the inventory at that one a little less interesting, with fewer “hidden treasures” and wantlist items (and, at least for me, it's much less convenient to get to).

I stopped by the Sandy store today and CDs were 75% off. Spent 4 hours browsing and filled up 3 shopping baskets' worth. And while I was happy to pick up a bunch of good stuff at truly great prices, I am bummed that another of my favorite CD haunts is closing. While I like the convenience of Discogs and getting orders in the mail, I still love nothing more than spending an afternoon hunting through shelves for the interesting, the obscure, and the OOP.

Sigh….

 

The Burnside location really downsized during the pandemic. They only have half the space they used to have.

I work right across the street at McMenamins Crystal Ballroom and have not gone in there since we moved to Portland in May 2017. Before we moved here I hit many stores as a tourist.

 

i've never been a huge fan of EM for new stuff as the stores are a mess and they have no inventory system, but man alive i'm disappointed this one is going away as they consistently had the biggest and best used bins. once the beaverton location went bye-bye i pretty much exclusively hit up the sandy store.

 

Scott Kuzma, the owner of Everyday Music, died unexpectedly about two weeks ago. The decision to close the store was made early this year, due to the sale of the property to a developer. His widow has been performing most of the management duties for a few years, she has a lot on her lap right now.

 

I loved the Beaverton store. The staff were excellent.

It's really sad to see the stores fade away.

 

Its really sad to know. So much bologna happening not just in Portland but everywhere affecting business and regular consumers....

 

I drove by the legendary PDQ Records location on Grant in Tucson recently.....it is a weed and dirt lot now. Whatta store that was cept the sealed used albums with A-B-C grading. New record stores are in crappier neighborhoods now. I expect Black And Red to die soon and Twist And Shout to be sold to a developer here in the Denver area.

 

that's a pity. i'd always heard from employees how much they really loved the owners.

 

In addition to the Sandy Blvd. and Beaverton stores their Seattle store also closed down during the past year. Sad to see the reduction but I feel fortunate for the hours I've spent browsing their locations over the years. The Sandy and Seattle stores were especially spacious and never felt cramped in spite of the amazing volume of inventory they carried. I must've picked up thousands of used CDs there over the years, plus some cool vinyl.

BTW I believe their Bellingham WA store is still open but it's of course smaller than the flagship Portland store(s).

 

And Craig Moerer will continue to be the Godzilla and King Kong of records in the NW.

 

Can you share a bit about Mr. Moerer? Is he associated with any particular store(s)?

 

he can't. just likes to chime in with vague craig moerer conspiracy theories in every thread about portland, record stores, etc.

 

He's a mail order legend. Google him. He's owned the Portland scene for decades with worldwide sales out of a big building. Retail outlet, I doubt it. High prices.

 

Craig Moerer owns Records By Mail, which has been in business since 1974. They have no retail presence except for a table he rents at my store for items with physical blemishes that look bad but play nice. His warehouse/office doesn't have a sign, but they allow in-person pick-up of items bought through the web site.

 

Pretty smart putting the non eBay/Discogs/mail order duffers in a store to get rid of.....the small heat warp, deep tiny nick, VeRo'd boots, all hit indoors around here. I still have his 80's catalog with Jim Stafford albums at $12 etc.. Pre eBay you could get that from Lulu in Boise.

 

Went there today and it's pretty picked over. Any titles by major bands are clear out, save for a couple Dylan titles. If you're country fan there's a couple of George Strait box sets and a plethora of Garth Brooks box sets.

 

And another one I really love in that general area, Albums On the Hill in Boulder, appears to be at least temporarily closed. That's unfortunate.

 

Agree that the Burnside version, while fairly good, often didn't have as much I was seeking as did the Sandy location. So I'll miss this. There are some other good locations in town for vinyl, mainly over near Hawthorne. Music Millennium is a great store, but I'd say it focuses a little more and better on new than used. With the Burnside Everyday Music staying open, perhaps that one will now become a little better. I almost always visit Powell's Books when in town so have the Burnside location only 1 block away is a nice thing. And there's also 2nd Ave. Records, which sometimes has some interesting things.

 

The Bellingham location is still open, but I noticed a sign from a commercial realtor in the window. I asked an employee about it, but he said he didn't know anything.

Regardless, I'm afraid the store is facing very difficult times. Real estate costs in Bellingham have gone into the stratosphere. Unfortunately, the prices of used vinyl at this location have also gone into the stratosphere, which I think is not working out well for them (there are a few good finds at good prices... but I think the abundance of outrageously-priced stuff causes people to leave in a state of disbelief and never return). It's too bad; there are some excellent people working there, who know and care a lot about music.

 

I stopped by early this week and found a handful of CDs but did better with used Blu-rays. I walked out with a box of stuff for less than $30 total which was kinda fun.

 

Good to know. I plan to visit the Bellingham store soon just in case something is in the works.

 

How can an employee of any store of any business not know what a commercial realtor sign means? You shoulda seen the wild ridiculous prices at most tables at the Denver Record Convention yesterday. It really is getting worse.

 

I stopped by yesterday. I picked up a few cd's and wished the staff the best. Sad to see it go. Apparently, they have just a week or so to move everything as the building is slated for demolition on the 15th. It was one of (maybe the original?) Jantzen swimsuit factories way back in the day.

 

They're not realtors ??