Sonic Boom is being forced out of its prime Bloor Street location by its landlords to be replaced by, of all, things, a Dollarama.
Rather than closing up shop, the decade-old record shop will be moving into a standalone space within another Annex landmark, Honest Ed’s, and opening an offshoot location in Kensington Market.
The situation was out of Sonic Boom’s hands, but proprietor Jeff Barber wants to stress this isn’t a case of a struggling business doing whatever it can to survive.
“We had our best year ever last year and we’re on our way to an even better one this year,” he says. “This is just a bullshit situation that was thrown at us, and we’re doing our best to adapt and rise to the challenge.”
The Kensington Market location, says Barber, was already in the works before their current lease ran out. Opening in late-July, the Kensington shop will expand the brand’s focus by carrying not only music, but clothing, accessories, curios and vintage furniture. And, joining a growing pool of independent record stores, it will also focus almost exclusively on vinyl.
“Vinyl is just killing it for us right now,” says Barber. “We’re blowing it through the doors as quickly as we can, and we’re hoping to do that even more down in Kensington.”
Those attached to the familiar click-clack of the music institution can be assured, however, that the main location will remain as similar to the old model as it can in its new home at Honest Ed’s. The new space, officially opening in the last week of August, will be slightly smaller but still warehouse-like in its proportions, with 11,000 square feet spread over a single floor.
Sonic Boom has solidified its reputation as a bona fide alternative all-ages concert venue over the last few years and Barber assures us that’s not going to change at Honest Ed’s (in fact, he even hints that there will be acoustic shows at the Kensington location on Pedestrian Sundays).
To help commemorate their storied basement stage, we asked Barber to share a list of his top five favourite in-store performances.
