What goes around

comes around again on Printers Row

09/23/2011 11:53 PM

By Bonnie McGrath

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Patrick Schwer of H+ Records, opening soon on Printers Row (Photo by Bonnie McGrath)

In the gloomy retail scene and empty storefronts on the west side of Deaborn just north of Polk, there's some tunes about to spin. An old-fashioned record store is opening at 730 South. One that sells the real vinyl. In fact, once it gets up and running in the next few weeks, the owner, Patrick Schwer, who grew up in Beverly, worked as a water chemist in Oakland, California--and who now lives in Ukrainian Village--plans to also sell record players. "If I can find a distributor," he says.


Schwer is taking his online business into a brick and mortar storefront where the GNC on Printers Row used to be--and it will be called H+ (to harken back to his career in water).

At one time, he would have had a number of neighbors on Printers Row-a pet store and a coffee house that became a hot Mediterranean restaurant, for starters. But these days in this economy, he's a pioneer. He had a little reception Friday night in which he invited some of his artistic friends to draw on the white walls and drink some beer--under an open ceiling dripping with strings of little colored lightbulbs. The walls will soon be painted, the storefront will be fixed up and built out. The ceiling will be closed up and ready for business.

Schwer says all the musical artists today are making vinyl records. And he will sell new records, as well as old. He agreed with me when I said even a Bose doesn't compare to old-fashioned recorded music on vinyl played on an old-fashioned stereo system. When I pulled out my iPhone to snap a picture of him, I should have asked him what he thinks of hundreds of songs downloaded from iTunes facing him head on.


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By Judy Marcus from Palatine
Posted: 09/25/2011 2:16 PM

Interesting! I just forwarded this to Jeff Marcus in Arizona.