LOGAN SQUARE — Wicker Park’s Shuga Records is expanding west to Logan Square.
Shuga Records , a record store specializing in hard-to-find vinyl and known for its vast online collection, is coming to 3306 W. Armitage Ave., owner Adam Rosen announced on social media.
It will be the second outpost of Shuga Records, serving as a retail shop and the company’s warehouse, Rosen said. The original Shuga Records store at 1272 N. Milwaukee Ave. will remain open.
Rosen said he signed the 20-year lease on the particular Armitage Avenue building last week after two years of searching for the right spot plus securing city permitting. If everything goes according in order to plan, the store will open in mid-November, Rosen said.
The particular Logan Square shop will be similar to the Wicker Park spot, which has become one of the particular city’s go-to record stores since opening in 2015.
For years, Rosen has wanted to open a second location, but he offers been held up by the city permitting process, this individual said.
Boxed vinyl records are heavy, and moving hundreds of thousands of them is a serious undertaking, Rosen said. He said he or she also struggled to find a landlord willing to grant him a long rent, a must for his business model.
“I can’t just move half a million records somewhere, plus in five years, you see I’m doing good, and you say, ‘Oh, I’m raising your rent, ‘” he said.
Shuga’s back stock has been housed out of a large warehouse in Lawndale for several years, even after the Wicker Park shop doubled within size. The Logan Block expansion will allow Rosen to move the company’s storage from the Lawndale space to the 7, 000-square-foot Armitage Method building, which is more conveniently located near the particular Wicker Recreation area store, this individual said.
It’s good timing, seeing as the Lawndale building also recently sold in order to a new owner, Rosen said.
“I needed to stop paying rent [in Lawndale] and bleeding money out of that warehouse, ” he said.
Rosen stated they plan to spend the next few months building out there the Logan Square store so it’s ready to open in November, with the team making improvements to the area as time goes on. The particular building was most lately occupied by nonprofit Team World Vision’s offices.
Like the Wicker Park location, the Logan Square shop will sell used and new vinyl fabric and host signings plus in-store shows once it is up and running, Rosen said.
Rosen mentioned he’s inside talks with a turntable repair guy who he hopes will take over a portion of the particular shop.
Shuga Records is joining a stretch of Armitage Avenue continuing to attract small businesses. Haru Sushi , Doll Heads salon and Wish Me Luck Tattoo are usually just a few additions towards the corridor in recent years.
Rosen, that lives nearby, said he’s thrilled to be playing a role in the revival of the Armitage Avenue corridor. He said he expectations the record store sparks even more activity along the stretch, an area that “needs more things that are attractive in order to all of the people moving there. ”
“I love everything about that region. I’ve lived in Logan back and forth with regard to 25 years. Logan has always been my go-to regarding everything, so … it’s good that will it’s right now there, ” Rosen said.
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