After serving as a music hub for ASU students for 10 years, Hoodlums Music store is closing for good.
The store's owners announced last Monday that the new and used music store, formerly located in the lower level of the Memorial Union, would not open its doors despite the MU's re-opening today.
Founders Steven Wiley and Kristian Luce, a former ASU student, said they decided to close their store after the recent MU fire.
"There was massive smoke damage from when the smoke went through the air conditioning systems," Wiley said. "The whole store was covered in soot."
When the fire occurred, all of Hoodlums' inventory was damaged and couldn't be resold, Wiley said.
Wiley added that the cost of replacing all their merchandise was prohibitive.
Additionally, they wouldn't be able to replace all of the used music, which they had accumulated over their ten years of operation.
Mike Clawson, a journalism senior who has been a Hoodlums customer for nearly eight years, said he is going to miss the music shop.
"It's devastating in every way for someone who loves and respects music," Clawson said. "I was always happy to put money in their pockets because of what they have done for music."
Wiley said they started Hoodlums in 1998 when ASU's previous record store, Zia Records, shut down.
The former Zia Records employees left the record store after Zia Records closed its University branch and decided to open Hoodlums in a vacant space in the MU.
Luce said they didn't have computers for their first six months of operation, which led them to write all of their customers' receipts by hand.
During the last 10 years, the store diversified into more than a record store as they carried a large collection of posters, vinyl records and DVDs.
Although they won't be moving back into the MU, Wiley said they are considering other locations.
"We are still looking for other opportunities in the area," Wiley said. "We are looking all over to find a place where we can reinvent ourselves and do so wisely."
Wiley and Luce both said they are going to miss the campus community they have grown to love over the years.
The owners added that the close was an emotional one for them because the fire came so unexpectedly, and they weren't able to thank all of the students and faculty for their support.
"In the end opportunity happens in strange ways," Wiley said. "We feel nothing [but] nostalgia and thankfulness for the campus."
Those interested in updates about the store's future can now sign up to be on their e-mail list at hoodlumsmusic.com
Reach the reporter at: ryan.calhoun@asu.edu.
