Originally posted on The Vinyl Factory

Soaring rents push out the north London institution.

Lucky Seven, the much-loved record shop on Stoke Newington Church Street, is set to close after being put up for sale in late 2016.

Speaking to Hackney Gazette, the shop’s owner Jason Gore blamed rapid rent increases over the last few years for the closure of the shop. “The rent went up by a third in 2009 and if it goes up again there’s only one way it’s going to go,” he said. “I’ve given it until August and then I’m thinking of calling it quits.”

The ramshackle, brightly painted shop has a reputation for throwing up the unexpected, with huge stacks of dirt-cheap second-hand vinyl and CDs spread over two floors.

“The way my shop looks fits in with the beauty of collecting records,” Gore said. “That’s what I prefer to see in a shop, bright colours. Not a grey, anonymous-looking coffee shop.”

Image via: The Vinyl Factory

The boom in vinyl collecting has been a “double-edged sword” for Gore. “The demand is there but I can’t get hold of it as easy as I used to,” he said. “Prices have doubled in the last four years because of the increase in interest. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword for me.”

Now one of north-east London’s most desirable areas, Stoke Newington has become a byword for gentrification, with Gore holding up the surrounding shops as examples. “That shop over the road has had five different owners in the last five years all trying to run it as cafes. There’s hardly any retail experience left on the road now, it’s all so boring.”

As Hackney Gazette reports, there are currently a few potential buyers, with Gore keen for Lucky Seven to remain a record shop: “If someone came in with fresh eyes and a bit of capital they could really take it forward. I’d hope they don’t paint it grey.”

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