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One of Pittsburgh’s longest-running record stores is closing.
Dave’s Music Mine, a fixture on the 1300 block of East Carson Street on the South Side, will close this spring after 20 years. This is the last full week for the store, which will remain open on weekends through May, when the lease is up, and perhaps until another business moves into the space.
Dave Whaley, who manages the store owned by Dave Panasiuk, said Tuesday, “Business has been slow over the past few years. We’re selling a decent amount of vinyl but not getting as much foot traffic.”
Not getting foot traffic on Carson Street?
“If we don’t sell beer, they’re not coming in,” he said.
Dave’s began in 1996 when Panasiuk purchased Jerry Weber’s store above the McDonald’s in Oakland when Mr. Weber moved his operation to Squirrel Hill. Dave’s expanded for a time to multiple locations and then scaled back to the one store on the South Side, which opened in May 2000, taking the place of Randy’s Alternative Music.
Dave’s has specialized in new and used vinyl, along with selling CDs, DVDs, VHS, cassettes and concert tickets.
Mr. Whaley estimated that there are between 10,000 and 50,000 pieces of vinyl in the store and countless CDs. While vinyl has maintained or increased its value, CDs have dropped in price by more than half in recent years. Until the store closes, just about everything will be buy-one-get-one-free.
Mr. Panasiuk, who works for the University of Pittsburgh at the Petersen Events Center, said in a text: “The close is humbling but positive at the same time on our end.” He added that Dave’s will continue to exist online through Amazon, eBay and Discogs.
Mr. Whaley, who is the only full-time employee, has been working at Dave’s since September 1996 and will end his run this weekend.
He says he’s getting a resume together, but “it’s only one page because I’ve been here for 23 years.”
The good news is that Pittsburgh still has its share of record outlets, with Jerry's Records (Squirrel Hill), Eide's Entertainment (Downtown), The Attic (Millvale), The Government Center and Get Hip (North Side), Cruel Noise/Skull Records (Polish Hill), Vinyl Remains (Mt. Lebanon), along with the Exchange stores. A new store called The DJ Connection, with about 3,000 records to start, is opening this week in Bridgeville.
Scott Mervis: smervis@post-gazette.com.
First Published: January 7, 2020, 3:52 p.m.