PEKIN, Ill – Co-Op Records in Pekin is scheduled to close its doors for good September 30.
The iconic store opened in 1998.
Owner Denny Smith, who now lives in Nashville and is pursuing a music career, tells WMBD’s “The Phil Luciano Show” he simply has too much on his plate to run the business adequately.
“I play in a band and I’m also a stage hand and a visual technician,” Smith said. “(For example) Next week I do a Katy Perry show and I do Vince Gill on Saturday night, and Linkin Park on Thursday. Those are long days and I’m trying to do that and then somebody calls and says ‘Hey, the credit card machine’s not working.’”
Smith emphasizes the decision to close the store was his and his alone.
“My landlord’s not kicking me out. They want me to stay. I have opted not to renew my lease,” Smith said. “What I’m planning to do is take a bunch of that product here (to Nashville). I have some opportunities to sell it here. But nothing’s finalized yet because I want to see how everything shakes out at the store.”
With that in mind, Smith said if someone is willing to keep the business open, he’s ready to listen.
“When I initially posted I was willing to close, I was hoping some young kid would come in and say, hey, someone with fresh eyes and possibly wanted to slap a fresh coat of paint on it and make something new out of it.”
“There’s still time to get a deal done. I’m not trying to get rich off it. I’m not going to put a number out there.”
Still, Smith says it hurts to make that kind of a decision.
“I hate to see it go. I can’t tell you how broken up I am about this,” Smith said. “It’s half of my life. My friends and family have worked there. It’s tough, it’s really tough.
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