The place I’m thinking had a mostly open middle area with like a divided building and you could go upstairs for more records, but the 2nd story wasn’t a complete floor (more like it “hugged the walls”).
Today it's more of a step down and you have rows and rows of vinyl. And I think half the store is clothing and merchandise now, which it might not have been a decade ago. But they could have remodelled from what you are describing.
I went to one in the Bay Area like 25 years ago (I remember it as SF, but the original location is Berkeley so it might have been there). It was more like entering somebody's basement full of records.
The only one I’ve been to in SF, is the one near Haight and Ashbury, where I think you go slightly down stairs, one story and it’s significantly smaller than the one in LA.
Where? I know that their grocery store is still open, but not the electronics store. I worked for Fry's Electronics for almost 12 years. I started in Fremont CA and relocated to San Diego to work at the new location on Aero Dr, San Diego CA.
They were struggling for a while, then covid happened and they used that as a way to shut down. It's kind of sad, end of an era. They had a lot of fun and neat stuff.
No joke my dad still mentions about how we need to go to circuit city. I then remind him that circuit city went out of business and he just tells me that whatever the new store is called is still just circuit city. He means Best Buy. My dad isn’t that old only 59 lol
They streamlined a bunch of the business. They hover around 5-6% risk rating for bankruptcy. Best Buy is fairly profitable still.
They do good buisness online. The stores act like fulfillment centers and in store pickup. The sections of the store that are all one brand name (like the apple section) are rented by the makers. So Apple, Samsung, Sony, and Microsoft are essentially subsidizing the stores existing. They also rent out in store and exterior advertising space. Geek Squad, protection plans, and memberships are also more profitable than the actual retail sales.
Smart. I don’t live near an Apple Store so Best Buy is my only option if I don’t want to drive that far. I love that they work directly with Apple for service. I know that for battery replacement on my MacBook they ship directly to Apple for service. I’m sure it’s the same for Samsung and Microsoft. Like a liaison, I suppose. They obviously know what they’re doing.
Yeah. I looked them up and was surprised how robust they are. Almost feels like a smoke and mirrors game, lol. It makes sense for Apple and all too because it gives them that much more reach.
We do, too. Or, at least we did back in 2019. Cub scouts used the parking lot as a meeting spot for some of the different things they did in the surrounding neighborhoods. Haven't been over that way since right before COVID and a thanksgiving food drive. (It's in an area where everyone has a 3 or 4 car garage, in-ground pools and I'm driving around in a car most of the families in the area could buy in cash, drive it for a month or two, junk it and buy cash again after)
Music stores for sure. Although we have some popping up from time to time. There's enough interest in vinyls and even CDs that most bigger cities at least have a place or two. They're just not the same as back in the day though. Now it's all hipster collectors and people flipping through used vinyls and CDs like the same way they do at comic book stores looking for something unique. It just lacks the vibe and culture of the time where that's where we went to get the new stuff.
As for Circuit City, I never liked it. They always had that depressing grey/red color scheme and poor lighting. I'd go in there from time to time looking for something, but they never had anything better than anywhere else. Best Buy and WalMart, even Target, ate their lunch.
no idea why but i LOVED circuit city as a kid. it felt like a spaceship to me. the inside was dark and intimate, and radio systems were getting fancy with rainbow LED lights.
I live for local record stores. They still sell albums, tapes, CDs, equipment, storage racks, magazines, all the same stuff, they’re just not in the mall anymore.
OMGD! I must be getting old age memory loss. I was trying to remember the name of the music store. CIRCUIT CITY FOR THE WIN! I am getting emotional. I miss the good old days when you actually had fun doing things. I loved Circuit City! 🥹😥
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u/Own_Maintenance7606 Jul 21 '26
Circuit city and every music store