Coronavirus Updates

Greetings friends. Like all of you, we’ve been watching the news, preparing to hunker down, and trying not to freak out. Last night Allegheny County asked all nonessential businesses to close their doors to assist in slowing the spread of the virus. As much as we would like to believe that records are essential, we believe that right now it’s critical for people to stay home and avoid contact with others. Social distancing measures are being taken in hopes of avoiding a situation in which our hospitals and health care providers are overwhelmed, and this will only be successful if everyone does their part. With this in mind, The Government Center will be closed for the next two weeks, beginning Monday, March 16; we will reassess the situation after two weeks and make further decisions then. Additionally, all events and live shows in the store scheduled for March and April have been canceled or postponed.

As these events have rapidly unfolded I have thought a lot about the economic impact of social distancing. Many workers and small businesses are going to be severely strained by a sudden contraction in wages and sales, and if you are able to support them during this time I encourage you to do so. At this time our hourly employees, Bob and Derek, will continue to work their regular shifts on Mondays and Tuesdays, cleaning and organizing the shop. This week we will be placing some orders with distributors in order to stock some new releases. We do not sell online and do not anticipate moving to an online sales model, so without some creative thinking we will have no revenue while closed. If you would like to support us during this time, here are some options for you:

• Buy a gift certificate to use when we reopen. We can charge your credit card over the phone and hold it for you.
• If there is a record you want to buy now, get in touch. You can make an appointment to come by and pick it up, or we can bring it to you.
• Any purchase of $20 or more during this time will receive a free record. A good one, too, not junk! This will be personally chosen just for you; either request a specific mood/vibe, or leave it totally up to chance!
• If you want to avail yourself of any of these options, give us a call or send us a message via email or social media. We’ll be checking and updating regularly.
• If you have records to sell we will still be buying while closed.

Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones. These are strange and frightening times, and we’re all going to need one another to make it through.

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