Permanent Records, One Of Chicago's Great Record Stores, Is Closing

By Stephen Gossett in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 24, 2017 6:00PM



Permanent Records

Permanent Records, one of our very favorite record stores in Chicago, is closing after more than ten years in business.

The owners will focus their attention on their L.A. outpost, including relocating some key staff, said co-owner Lance Barresi in an email sent to list subscribers on Monday morning. The last day of operation at the Ukrainian Village shop (1914 W. Chicago Ave.) will be Sunday, Sept. 17.

Two reasons for the closing were mentioned in the announcement: The rigors of travel between the West Coast and Chicago and the Chicago store's expiring lease (at the end of September):



"This was a very difficult decision for all of us, especially for [co-owner] Liz [Tooley] and I, but we believe that we will be a much stronger team all together in the same city. It’s been nearly 6 years since Liz and I left Chicago and it’s been a difficult transition, but we are firmly planted and motoring in LA now and we no longer have time to travel to Chicago on a regular basis. With our lease coming up and a long-term decision to make, we came to Dave and Robert with an opportunity to move to LA and they accepted. We’re very excited to have the crÃ¼e back together again, ripping and tearing in sunny Southern California. That said, we are all very sad to leave Chicago, the starting point of our most excellent adventure."

The team plans to relocate its leftover inventory to the L.A. store, but it did float the idea of selling the business as is, if any record-store angels care to swoop in. Please? "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," Barresi wrote.

"Overall, this should be viewed as a positive move for Permanent as a whole, not a setback," the statement reads. But it's hard to feel great right now. Especially when it came to krautrock, kosmische and wooly old art rock, garage and experimental, Permanent was second to none in Chicago. And some of the reissues they dug up over the years (VCSR, Bil Vermette, so many others) still sound way ahead of their time. Hopefully that mission carries on from California.