Boomtown is closing!

Shannon sent me a link to this on KTVZ: Boomtown bust: Bend record store closing.

Boomtown, a Bend CD store and retail fixture for 15 years, announced Monday it will be going out of business in October.

The announcement came in a letter to customers. A "going out of business" sale will begin September 21st and is expected to conclude around October 19th.

Boomtown owner Mark Capps said that it was time to move on from the business, which has sold music, gifts, jewelry, cards and toys since 1992. It has been in its current location at 910 NW Harriman in downtown Bend since 1998.

I’m stunned, but I guess I shouldn’t be. Capps cites the "changing landscape of the music industry" and yeah, with everything digital and running on computers and iPods, I guess it’s tough to compete in the market unless you’re a BigCo.

But they also have a nice selection of vinyls (you know, actual records), and toys, and gifts and is really the kind of store Bend needs. That sucks.

5 comments

  1. Indeed. Sucks to lose a locally owned business that offers the kinds of products you wouldn’t find at a big-box or warehouse store, huh?

    Yeah, that’s right…same anonymous commenter here. I gave up arguing with you guys on the other post because, well, this just isn’t that complicated, and it became obvious that you and BOR just weren’t going to get it.

  2. Yet another great local business closing up shop! That’s where we always went to find presents for our "hard to shop for" family and friends. The face of downtown is changing so much in such a short period of time, it’s really sad to see.

  3. One thing I can tell you is Capps, his college name in "The Zoo" at Univ. of Oregon, Walton Dorm, is not happy with having to close up shop. I haven’t seen Mark in like 15 years, but he was a music "God" even then. We used to play "DJ" in his dorm room filled with classic vinyl. YESSONGS (Yes), George Harrison, 10CC, Allman Bros, Santana, Lynyrd…I couldn’t possibly list a deserving few of the classics Mark probably still has. Literally a wall of vinyl, reminding me of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. Oddly enough, I happened to google Mark wondering where he’d gone after his radio career, the guy was BORN to speak into a mic with his booming "bass". When I saw record store owner, I had to laugh because it is SO "Capps" to make a cool place for music lovers. It’s one thing to experience the music by yourself, but a totally different experience with a cool group of people. Capps was, and probably still is, an accomplished drummer and percussionist and that we somewhat shared through mutually admired performances on vinyl. Yes was the most played group for obvious reasons, truly the most amazing band of their time and quite possibly to this very day (the 1980 era). So I can tell you with some degree of certainty that Mark has made this decision only after looking at every option to keep the store open. Maybe it’s time to consider other stores you love that might need a $5 or $10 dollar purchase? I’m not laying any blame, just something to think about. If you happen to see Mark Capps, tell him "hello from Reg".

  4. Ha! I’ll explain one little detail, I chatted with Mark back in 1992 or so when he was Program Director for Z-100 in Portland. Well, we were in college a few years before that, he was a "Music God" back in the late 70’s, when we were "young dudes". Yea, Mark has been out of college for more than 15 years. Have a great day all.

Comments are closed.