just a brief update:
I went there yesterday afternoon for the 1st time in awhile (and actually found a color 12" single of Rush's New World Man/Vital Signs (live) in fact), and inquired about the lease/move situation.
As it turns out, the owner (I'm assuming) put a BID DOWN for the lease on their current location. Now, when they will know and make public if they will retain/renew the lease for the property/bldg is unclear other than likely before the day the current lease expires, August 31st.
More pure guessing: the company that is ultimately putting in the Parking Ramps and more apartments? down in that area may be interested enough in Cheapo's current space to OUTBID the owner. But that is just my thinking as a worst-case-scenario/potential/possibility.
Hopefully they won't and they will stay where they are (for now at least). But at a minimum, the area and most recent transitions could if it hasn't already impacted Cheapo and that neighborhood.
Just for the sake of seeing it, I'd love to find out what company built the parking ramps (paid for, not the actual Company who did the physical work) and whatever else is being built right now, and find out their motivation. I mean, I wonder if they understand how they are changing that area to become potentially what has not likely ever been from a demographic socio-economic standpoint.
It comes across as CORPORATE, and Lagoon/Hennepin/Lake ain't supposed to be Corporate, at least never has been since I've frequented it.
But they are greedy capitalists I imagine and likely don't give a flying fuck about the music consumer and independent moviegoer in that area.
But for now, what happens to Cheapo still remains to be seen at least.
6/21/13 10:48PM
Well I went down there today, also seeing the Brit Marling/Ellen Page/Alexander Skarsgaard movie The East (very good movie by the way), at Lagoon at 2PM.
But I of course spent some time at Cheapo, and inquired about this situation. And from more than 1 employee I was confirmed the lease does expire at the end of August, and at least 1 suggested without question, THEY ARE MOVING, and NOT CLOSING. I imagine that is what he was told from the owner, so the intention of the owner is to still have a physical retail store. And likely somewhere near the area. So the Harmar thing is very likely nothing he'd consider.
I think he told me there are empty spaces in Uptown, maybe Lake St even. My gf wondered about Hymie's old location, or even where I guess "Dusty Pixels" was? which is/was near The Fifth Element off Hennepin I guess (I never went to Dusty Pixels, at least if it's the store I think it is/was unlike the CD Exchange which was on Lake and then moved to Hennepin and then seemed to be gone soon after.
But the details about this move and plans have still not been announced or even decided exactly. When? right after they close they are out of the current location? Or perhaps a few weeks or months later.
I guess the owner went through a similar situation and move with the Fridley and now Blaine location.
The guy I spoke to also mentioned perhaps there might be only Vinyl and some cds or just Vinyl or the Applause part would have a separate location or business plan. I would imagine there could be some vague changes like that, which I guess for me and many others, as long as they carry Vinyl, and rock Vinyl, I won't be affected as much (although I hope Jazz vinyl is still there too..frankly any and all Vinyl actually, including the 45s, 12-inches namely, which St.Paul had to purge into storage when the East sides cds and dvds killed the amount of space).
6/21/13 12:55AM
A Post in THIS TOPIC on the modern-radio.com message
claims:
Uptown Cheapo is moving. The lease is up at the end of August.
Moving where and how?
Nobody but the old man knows....
-First stuff like Lagoon Theater having to include multiplex titles in their showings in order to survive.
-Things like the Red Dot Net Stations disappear
-The Daily Hours get CUT, having the store only open until Midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, and then only 10PM 7 days a week.
-The neighborhood gets taken over by some SUITS building HIPSTER apartments and PARKING RAMPS and LOTS.
-The Vinyl section downstairs ends up getting purged upstairs and a Bookstore opens up in its place in the basement.
-Then the dwindling of the St.Paul location with a BW3 killing the mom and pops nature of that part of Snelling in St.Paul.
And now, the signature business not only in that area, but more or less for MUSIC in this town, future is up in the air.
Optimistically, they find a location with LOWER RENT, but perhaps at least a bit more convenient. Maybe in NorthEast? I'm racking my brain trying to think of places that are somewhat large enough where they could move to, that aren't incredibly far away. A place like a mall or something might make sense from a RENT standpoint and SIZE standpoint, but the 1 place that keeps coming up is HARMAR which used to be a big Mall that I and many others frequented, but it is somewhat different (if not dead in some ways, now). But one problem with it might just be HOW FAR AWAY it is.
Based on that, if there were a Mall or area in Uptown that had a bunch of businesses, and 1 large space now vacant (like where Hollywood Video used to be for example, off Hennepin), that might make the most sense. But I just am blanking right now, on my relatively limited knowledge of Business Real Estate in the Uptown area.
Maybe the owner does have some things at work, but then again, there's probably a better than 50% chance, the owner DOES NOT AT THIS POINT, and is really just buying time, hoping to find something in the coming weeks.
It's too bad, the idea of the Minneapolis and St.Paul stores combining almost seems like it could have SAVED the East Side of St.Paul now, had they known that the Uptown location was going to have to move anyway.
Sure, it would be better to have 2 locations in Minneapolis/St.Paul (Blaine is there too, but it's still in a remote suburb), but if 1 of them, especially Uptown were going to possibly have to close, and the other downsized, the alternative of having 1 LARGER location with the 2 of them combining forces in whatever way they could, and saving the larger part of St.Paul (or likely keeping it, and keeping the West Side as All Vinyl and Cassettes), I'd take the larger combined store over losing Uptown all-together.
It would still kill much of the inventory that comes from Uptown and the Mpls area, but I imagine St.Paul's inventory would grow and include some different stuff at times, that would have ended up at Uptown anyway.
But that's all a woulda, coulda, shoulda, and hypothetical fiction that didn't and likely won't happen.
But the sad reality is, the future of my favorite music retailer is up in the air. Times are certainly in the transition stage this Summer. This past week, my gf's older/ailing dog of 12 years time seems to be closing down (if not now, likely soon I'm very sad/afraid to believe).
The deaths of James Galdolfini and Vince Flynn fwiw.
And now this.
I guess I'll bump/edit this when I find out more official or specific information. But for now, I am concerned if not a bit depressed about this. My friend Jess on FB did point out, at least they likely would have some kind of SALE, which is all but a small consolation, but I guess it's a little something.
I also wonder if perhaps the owner will go to INTERNET sales, which kind of would suck comparably, but my love/support of Cheapo, and THAT Cheapo especially, would want me to still purchase as much music from them as possible.
I think this does have a lot to do with the nature of that area recently and those buildings changing the atmosphere. Some SUIT likely went in there and talked to their owner and offered them too much, they couldn't refuse. That and how they are struggling, from a business standpoint, it may have just been a NO BRAINER. But sadly, the idea of moving to a new location may not also have been as obvious to plan in the process of getting out of debt.
Fuck.
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