Schoolkids Records to close in Chapel Hill. ‘It is like a death in the family.’
Schoolkids Records, the landmark record store that for decades defined Franklin Street’s hip campus culture, will close in Chapel Hill.
As the iconic music store approaches its 50th anniversary, owner Stephen Judge announced he will focus on the remaining Raleigh store and its in-house record label to keep the Schoolkids name alive. The Franklin Street store shuts its doors at the end of the year.
“Owning a store, much less one with the history and reputation of Schoolkids and operating on Franklin St has been the thrill of my lifetime,” he wrote in a Monday gofundme page seeking help with the transition. “I will miss it terribly. It is like a death in the family.”
Judge cited changes in the music industry, challenges in local real estate and post-pandemic inflation as reasons that made the Chapel Hill closure hard to avoid.
“We are no longer playing on a level playing field and its time to cut back and focus on the core of our business and not stretch myself too thin,” he wrote.
Open on Franklin Street since the 1970s, Schoolkids on Franklin Street sold tons of music in the era of vinyl and rode its more recent resurgence. In its prime, Schoolkids served as an outlet for all things music, once opening at midnight in 1991 to accommodate the rush to buy a new Guns ‘N’ Roses album.
The store especially tailored to rising local bands, notably Whiskeytown, The Connells and Superchunk — all of whom found their beginnings at Schoolkids.
“People like to talk about what they’re buying. It’s a really cool way to actually talk to people — which is not something you get online — and to really get a feel for what’s going on,” Kristen Jarman, a UNC sophomore who worked there, told The N&O in 2008.
While the original Franklin Street store closed that year, citing the same slowdowns, it reoccupied the former CD Alley a few blocks west in 2016.
“I was fortunate enough to start college at N.C. State in the late 80’s and get a job at Schoolkids Records on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh in late 1990,” Judge wrote Monday. “This was right when the local NC scene was about to blow up and Nirvana was about to change everything we know about independent artists, record stores, venues and all aspects around that community. I was right smack dab in the middle of it and loving every second. I rode that wave into a nearly 4-decade career.”
In his gofundme post, Judge announced a liquidation sale at the Chapel Hill store and sought continued support for Raleigh’s location in Mission Valley.
Judge ended his post on a personal note:
“This may be the end of an era in Chapel Hill,” he said, “but I will remain dedicated to keep our brand on task and with consistency to support the entire music community. ... The most important thing you can do is live your life, not the life of or for others but yours. As you grow and find your peace, you realize that you don’t get the years back.”
This story was originally published August 19, 2024 at 10:55 AM.