Louisville record store to close after nearly 30 years in business

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- After nearly three decades in business in Germantown, a popular Barret Avenue record store might be forced to face the music.

Craig Rich, the owner of Underground Sounds, will be forced by his landlord to close in May. Records line the walls and CDs fill dozens of boxes inside the local shop, and Rich hopes the doors are just revolving, not closing forever.

"Prices on rent, as you know, are up, and they are not very favorable to mom-and-pop stores," he said Monday. "This isn't even a mom-and-pop store. This is a pop store."

And so as he thumbed his way through thousands of records and CDs on Monday, Rich knew time at his store is limited. The building was sold, and while Rich's landlords worked with him and allowed him to stay until the end of his lease in May, the space will be turned into a tequila bar.

Rich has operated Underground Sounds on Barret Avenue for about five years after 24 years the original location on Highland Avenue.

For him, music is a passion, a labor of love.

"I haven't had employees in way over 10 years," he said. "The last five years. I have been open seven days a week and I have had only 21 days off."

Chris Webb, a longtime customer and one of the store's many fans, visited Monday.

"Coming to a place like this, it also feels like you are digging for buried treasure," Webb said. "It strikes a chord with a music fan trying to find something they didn't know they wanted."

Rich said stars like Patti Smith and Johnny Depp have stopped in over the years, but in that time, nearly everything in the music industry has been lot to digital. Vinyl saw a resurgence during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it wasn't cheap.

"In the last four years alone, vinyl has gone up $8 per piece," Rich said.

Rich has one of the few remaining true record stores left in Louisville.

"I've done this for very, very little financial reward," he said Monday. "This store was built from the heart, from the ground up.

"... I dedicated my whole life to this. There is no plan B."

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