The historic “Record Mart” located in the Times Square subway station has closed for good.
Untapped New York reported the sad news this week, explaining that the store had been moving out stock for a few days and then left a note on the door this week. The record shop was a mainstay within the Times Square subway station, and also a place many street performers sang and danced as commuters walked between the shuttle train to Grand Central and the 1/2/3 train platforms.
The store, which of course sold records along with audio equipment like speakers, headphones, and more, was established in 1958 by Jesse Moskowitz and Bob Stack. They say it was the oldest record store in Manhattan, serving New Yorkers for a whopping 62 years. The note on their door read:
We are deeply saddened to say that due to the pandemic, Record Mart will not be able to reopen. On behalf of all of us at Record Mart, we want to thank you for your support through the years. Our phone number will remain active so if you have a special order, please leave a message with your name, phone number, and your special order ticket number and we will contact you. We are moving into the vintage audio business, where we buy, refurbish, and sell audio equipment.
They will still be functioning at recordmarthifi.com, so you can still support them online and also sell audio gear.
Another piece of old New York, lost.
See also: Aquagrill, A NYC Seafood Staple, Permanently Closes In SoHo
featured image source: Twitter / @bourgwick