360 Vinyl

360 Vinyl, a Portland record store, will close its doors Aug. 2.

(360 Vinyl)

360 Vinyl, a downtown Portland haunt for hip-hop heads, will close its doors in August.

As with Jackpot Records, which closed its Pearl location earlier this year, the record store's announcement was quick to state the closure didn't stem from financial reasons.

"We are fortunate in that we're not being forced out of business by a greedy landlord or by a lack of sales or a lack of ability to pay the bills. Business has been good as of late. We even recently had our best month in over 6 years," the store said on Facebook. "360's owner, Aaron (Marquez) or KEZ (however you may know him), started a job with another company in the music industry a few months ago. 360's lease runs out soon, and he can't continue to pull double duty any longer. He needs time for things like sleep."

Before shutting down on Aug. 2, the store will be offering a 10% discount on CDs, used vinyl and select new vinyl, with bigger sales likely to come as August nears.

360 Vinyl has been open for 16 years with a sharply curated selection heavy on hip-hop and underground electronic music, and its customers were quick to praise the store after the announcement.

"You mean a great deal to the community and I'm proud to have been there for at least 10 years! Salute you guys, take care," Mark Stolle wrote on Facebook, and the sentiment was echoed over a number of comments.

"I fell in love with underground hip-hop there back in ['99]," Marco Mancilla wrote. "I guess all good things must come to an end."

-- David Greenwald