Someone once said, “all good things must come to an end.” For Homer’s music at Orchard Plaza, the end of an era is now. After being at Orchard Plaza for almost 30 years, the store closed its doors for good on Saturday, September 10th.
Homer’s was first started in 1971 and has since then had the best selection of new and used CDs, LPs, and DVDs. Orchard Plaza has been in various locations in the strip since 1984. Before that, it was in Bel Air Plaza nearby.
According to the Old Market location’s manager, Eric Ziegler, Orchard Plaza decided to close up for a few different reasons. Reason number one being that the lease was up. Another reason being that sales were only just breaking even.
“Do we want to have two halfway stores or one rocking store?” Ziegler said.
“There just weren’t as many customers walking in the door,” said Justin O’Connor, manager at the Orchard Plaza location at the time of closing.
Other reasons for the dying out of independent music stores includes, digital downloading, illegally and legally through itunes and other various mediums, and the “big bad” stores such as Wal-mart, Best Buy, and Target who can afford to sell their CDs at a lower price.
But does this mean bad things for Homer’s? Ziegler said it depends on how you look at it.
“We lost customers who can’t shop at that store anymore,” Ziegler said. “But it’s also sad for employees too because some people lost their jobs.”
For O’Connor who is now working at the Old Market location it came as more of a blessing in disguise.
“I save on gas, I get off work earlier, and I now have more family time,” he said.
Dan Adams has been an employee with Homer’s for just over four years and was at one time Assistant Manager at Orchard Plaza. He has also worked at the Saddle Creek and Bellevue stores when they were still around.
“It’s sad to see another store go, and to see a lot of small businesses closing,” he said. “Orchard Plaza felt like my home with Homer’s.”
Adams felt the location had good customers, less shoplifting than other stores, and he liked his fellow employees. He also said that he used to shop at Orchard Plaza before he even worked for Homer’s.
So what is happening now with all of Orchard Plaza’s product? Ziegler says they are going through the remaining new stuff and deciding whether to keep it in stock or return it to the vendor.
“We tried to liquidate as much of the used CDs and LPs as we could before Orchard Plaza closed,” he said.
Overall Ziegler, the only remaining Homer’s store manager, is happy to still have a job with Homer’s. He has been with the company for about 15 years. He has also worked at other Homer’s locations including one of the Lincoln stores when it was still around.
“I think I deserve this position,” he said. “I’ve contributed a lot to the success of this company.”
As far as Homer’s goes, Ziegler thinks it will last for a while even with it being the only store left. He feels having a record store is important in the community.
“Not because I’m an employee,” he said. “Because I’m a music fan.”
Homer’s is located at 1210 Howard in the Old Market. You can visit their web site at http://www.HomersMusic.com.
Music is life 