Remember when we wrote about all those Tampa Bay record stores closing? Well, it's happening again — sort of.
Sound Exchange's Brandon store is closing this fall, but it has plans to move into a new 6,400 square-foot Pinellas Park location that's even bigger than the one they already operate in that neck of the woods (the existing location is at 7688 49th St N, and the new one is just over two miles away on the corner of 66th Street N and 86th Avenue N).
Erin Stoy, daughter of Sound Exchange co-founder Ron Stoy told our pals at the Tampa Bay Times that the move gives Pinellas a chance to enjoy a store that is as large as the one it operate in North Tampa. Stoy — who is also Sound Exchange's marketing director — said that if it made sense then there may room for other outside tenants to provide music instruction or instrument sales at the new Pinellas Park store.
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There's also a possibility that the existing Pinellas Park store may close, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
"This new building is really a commitment; it shows our commitment to the business for the long term,” she said. "The [Brandon and Pinellas Park stores] never operated at the same level as the Tampa store has, and it just became clear that combining the two smaller stores, and being able to not just have the one store, was really great.”
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Stoy added that the Brandon store’s three employees have been offered jobs in the Tampa and Pinellas Park locations. Losing another record store sucks for that neck of the woods, but customers with Brandon, Valrico, Riverview, Lithia, Seffner and Plant City addresses can take advantage of 10-percent off at Sound Exchange's Tampa and Pinellas Park locations from September 15-December 31.
Guess it's time to add another location to this evolving list of Tampa Bay record stores.
