After nearly two decades of business, the Glass House Record Store in Pomona, adjacent to the Glass House concert venue, will close on Monday, Sept. 30.
“We have decided to close after being open for almost 20 years,” said a post on the record store’s Instagram page on Tuesday, Sept. 10. “We want to thank all of you for supporting the store, and we hope you found some really amazing music here!”
The Glass House Record Store opened in 2006, just 30 miles east of Los Angeles and was known for specializing in rare and used vinyl records in downtown Pomona. It carried thousands of LPs spanning genres, including punk, classic rock, indie, jazz, country and hip-hop, with new arrivals that would be added weekly. The space also held meet-and-greets with artists and sold tickets to Glass House events and other Southern California festivals.
In a January 2021 Southern California News Group article commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Glass House, the talent buyer for the venue, Jon Halerin, who has worked there since 2006, credited Alex Rodriguez for the success the store experienced. He said, “It started out as just CDs, and like five years ago or so, Paul (Tollett) got really into vinyl and met this kid, Alex Rodriguez, who was just an expert, and he took over the store and made it really successful.”
Rodriguez, a DJ who opened up the main stage both weekends at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, also operates his own brick-and-mortar store, Record Safari in Los Angeles, and hosts a traveling version which functions as Coachella’s on-site record store where Record Store Day celebrations, album sales and artist signings take place.
Several patrons took to the Glass House Record Store’s Instagram page to voice their despair, while some took the opportunity to crack jokes to cope with the news about the closure.
“Spirit Halloween will open up October 1st,” wrote Jorge Meza.
“This makes me sad, and yet I find comfort in the many fantastic memories of digging through the bins with friends and finding so many great albums that I added to my record collection,” wrote DJ QueenZRabbit. “Easily, Glass House Records is at the top of my list for where the majority of my collection has been purchased from, and for good reason—love y’all in the shop!”
“Bruh, I remember buying warped tickets here, ” Alexia Solano added.
“Nooooo! I’ve found so many good records there,” wrote another user. “My kids take me there every Father’s Day to pick out a record ”
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