Photo: Francesco Carta fotografo / Moment / Getty Images
This. This right here hurts. Sam Goody, the one time giant record store chain that shaped music, video, and entertainment retail in the late-20th century, is set to close its last two remaining stores in early 2025. Now lets be realy, I haven't seen one in years, but the memories are still there. Remember the place where you could pop on headphones and listen to all the new music. That was way before iHeartRadio, and now the last is going away. Where were they anyway?
The chain’s last two stores are located in the Ohio Valley Mall in St. Clairsville, Ohio, and the Rogue Valley Mall in Medford, Oregon, with both now set to close early next year. The local Ohio newspaper, The Times Leader, reported that the manager of the Sam Goody at the Ohio Valley Mall (which first opened in 1980) learned about the store closing shortly after Thanksgiving. “It’s changed over the years, and it [stinks],” said manager Rick Polanski. “We were a $2 million store at one point, but times have changed, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
So next time you're having some drinks...I don't care what it is, pour one out for your old homie who was gone way too soon.
Sam Goody
1980-2025