Permanent Records

1914 W. Chicago, 773-278-1744

WHEN YOUR HOUSE starts to look like a record store, maybe it’s time to open one. So decided former record-shop clerks Liz Tooley and Lance Barresi, who moved here from Columbia, Missouri, in August. They secured a space in Ukrainian Village in September and in two weeks turned a 1,400-square-foot white box with track lighting into Permanent Records, a homey boutique with robin’s-egg blue walls, homemade forest green record and CD bins, and mod plastic chairs adorned with granny-chic-tapestry throw pillows. (The back third of the space has been left open for in-stores and possibly a satellite of the vintage boutique a friend runs in Columbia.) At first the inventory consisted entirely of selections from the couple’s personal collection—Touch and Go and Dischord staples alongside cream-puff psychedelic stuff like the Flock and Harpers Bizarre—and most of it was priced under ten bucks, but they’ve slowly added new releases, which now make up about half the stock. They hope to start buying used records from the public in the next couple months, and they’re already picking up harder-to-find items from bands that have recently been through town, like Tall Firs and Warhammer 48K. “We’re bringing in stuff we would actually suggest to people, things we’re not embarrassed of,” says Barresi, and while they’re happy to special-order rap metal for the neighborhood kid who comes in off the street, Tooley says, “my days of selling Ace of Base’s ‘I Saw the Sign’ for $1.99 are over.” —Liz Armstrong

Zara Skokie 66 Old Orchard Center	The Dressing Room Shoes Lincoln Square 4657 N. Lincoln	Succezz South Loop 1329 S. Michigan	Grasshopper 510 Bucktown 1944 N. Damen
Belmont Army Lakeview 855 W. Belmont	Phaiz West Town 673 N. Milwaukee	Andersonville Galleria Andersonville 5247 N. Clark	2 Sisters West Loop 1167 W. Madison
Golden Age Pilsen 1500 W. 17th	Pivot West Town 1101 W. Fulton	Charlotte Russe Loop 10 S. State	Renegade Handmade Wicker Park 1924 W. Division
Gray Old Town 1361 N. Wells	Florodora South Loop 330 S. Dearborn	A.Okay Official Lakeview 3720 N. Clark	Intermix Gold Coast 40 E. Delaware
Bess & Loie West Loop 1015 W. Lake	Gamma Player Wicker Park 2035 W. Division	Malabar Bucktown 1880 N. Damen	Mia Mora Logan Square 2639 W. Fullerton
Roslyn Bucktown 2035 N. Damen	Ouest West Loop 1063 W. Madison	Kaveri Lincoln Park 1211 W. Webster	Lissa on Maxwell University Village 729 W. Maxwell
TK Men Bucktown 1909 W. North	MNG by Mango Downtown Water Tower Place	Doggy Style Pet Shop Wicker Park 2023 W. Division	Sweden Shop Albany Park 3304 W. Foster
Permanent Records Ukranian Village 1914 W. Chicago	Michelle Tan Wicker Park 1872 N. Damen	Akira Bucktown 1814 W. North

Send a letter to the editor.