With a week to go before closing the doors CD Central, the Lexington record store he has helmed for more than three decades, things are busy for Steve Baron.
The final few days are bringing in longstanding patrons that began shopping for new and used recordings when his initial South Hill Station location opened in 1995. The store’s current home on South Limestone, which Baron moved to in 1999, is now closing and CD Central — as a brand name, at least — is headed to the history books.
The closing isn’t anywhere near as bittersweet as it could have been, though. CD Central won’t be shutting down due to financial issues, but rather as a means for Baron to retire. A new record store, with a trio of regional co-owners will quickly re-open with a new name, but much of the same mission: To serve as a community hub for music lovers to discover the endless parade of newly released records on vinyl and CD and perhaps hunt through bins of used recordings for a bargain or long, lost musical treasure.
“I’ve been so focused on just running the store that I haven’t really had time to think about some of the big picture stuff,” Baron said. “There are so many people coming in now to say goodbye or make one last purchase for nostalgia. Then on top of that, all of the UK students have come back in the last couple of weeks, so it’s been quite a busy time. It’s striking how many people have very positive feelings about their experiences with the store and want to relate them to me.
“A lot of people coming in say they shopped here in the ’90s when we were in South Hill Station while they were in college. Now, their kids are in college, so a whole generation has passed with everyone still shopping at the same record store, I mean, it’s really, really cool to hear that. It also makes me feel really old.”
What new owners say about CD Central closing
Among the patrons that began making the original CD Central in South Hill Station a regular stop is Bob Lewis, one of the three new owners of the business that will succeed Baron’s South Limestone store…