All That Music & Video

I promised to keep you up-to-date on the relocation of the store to our new Gateway East location. Now the clock is really ticking on what for me has been and continues to be a monstrous task. Not to mention my staff (at least those who are still speaking to me).  Joking aside, I took the plunge and gave my landlord on Lee Trevino a 30 day notice to vacate by March 31st, putting my staff into ultra-high gear.

Being the decision maker for a myriad of relocation details, I’m whipped, but there’s no time to stop.  They say  there’s  never  a good or right time to start a true countdown to relocation.  Fact.  But I had to grab a date and now we’re running with it. This is in the midst of a whirlwind of decisions and unexpected last-minute changes involving suppliers, vendors and contractors.  Toss-in the related issues like city construction codes, back-orders, special orders, delays, budget over-runs, technology hurdles … and, well, you get the picture.  But I’m happy to say that we’ve met the challenges and I’ll be happy when we can go back to concentrating on music and customer service.    Why am I singing the blues to you?  Well, I feel stressed.  All of the commotion has caused inconvenience for some of you.  And I haven’t had time to do what I like to do best, which is communicate with my customers, many of whom I consider friends.  For these two things I apologize. Believe me, when the new store opens, you’ll be delighted. By early summer, I’ll be back on the floor or in my office ready and willing to talk about the music world again. I never realized how important time with friends was for me. It’s probably the reason I got in this business in the first place.

    Our last and final day at the Lee Trevino location will be Saturday, March 31st.  We’ll be taking Sunday-Wednesday to finalize the move and set-up. We should be opening at 6800 Gateway East on Thursday, April 5th. This is what we call a “soft grand opening”, no bells and whistles, just quietly doing business.  Our official  Grand  Opening  Celebration  will be April 21st, which will coincide with Record Store Day, a national event.   Definitive dates and times will appear on this website.

I explained in my last blog that this is much more than a relocation.  It’s a new and re-energized approach to the growing market for collectible media of all sorts. We’ll have a vast and varied inventory of collectible vinyl LPs, CDs, DVDs, posters and memorabilia, all on the cutting edge of the new demand for these items here and literally worldwide.

And by the way, we’re laying the carpet and tile at the new All That Music & Video “Collector’s Marketplace” this week.  That’s a very good sign. I can even start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Please keep an eye on this blog in coming weeks as we count down the days to saying goodbye to Lee Trevino.  We love to celebrate, and we won’t leave quietly.

Thank you to all the volunteers who’ve pitched in to help us move. Anyone else who feels moved to help us with the final phase of our relocation,  just send us an e-mail and join the fun.  Thank you, too, to all of our friends who’ve sent e-mails wishing us well and the best of luck.  It’s friends like you who have made us a kind of El Paso landmark for more than 30 years, through all of our growing pains and successes.

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