Hymie’s Records, a local staple for vinyl since 1988, is going out of business after 37 years.
The owner since 2019, Adam Taylor, said the record shop closing is for the best. Ever since the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd, the store and East Lake Street have not been the same. Taylor said he has experienced a drop in sales and heightened crime.
“There’s a hangover from the civil unrest that’s still kinda here,” Taylor said. “I’ve suffered constant graffiti. I had a bathroom fire caused by a homeless person with a cigarette that could’ve burnt the place down. I’ve been attacked. I’ve been robbed twice, held up at knife point. I’ve had rocks thrown at me. I’ve been covered in garbage. No one deserves that.”
Taylor said, after all that, “I just have nothing left in the tank.”
Taylor is the fourth and last owner of Hymie’s after Jim “Hymie” Peterson’s family sold it in 2000. In 2010, Rolling Stone named the store one of 25 of the best record stores in the U.S. alongside Electric Fetus. The store, which occasionally hosted small performances from local bands, survived the recession in 2009 when it was bought by Laura and Dave Hoenack. However, the second financial obstacle of the pandemic pulled up the roots of the legacy record store.
The small music outlet is hosting its liquidation sale on Saturday, June 28, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., where everything, even the jukebox, must go. A post on Hymie’s Facebook reads, “Records that remain are our $3 and $1 albums and our 45s: get them for a song!” Most of the inventory is already sold.
As for Taylor, he does not know what is next for him, but he is hopeful.
“I’ve made a lot of great friends,” Taylor said. “I’ve met a lot of wonderful customers, and I’ll take that as a positive.”
3820 East Lake St., Mpls., 612-729-8890, hymiesrecords.com