Sitting inside Better Days West, surrounded by boxes, bags and shelves packed with records and other merchandise to be moved to the store’s East End counterpart, the record store’s owner, Ben Jones, was overjoyed about prospect of operating a bigger and better store.
“I’m still the same Black guy, just moved down the street,” Jones said.
Better Days West, which spent more than 35 years in the Parkland neighborhood at its 2600 W. Broadway storefront, is merging with Better Days East.
The store’s last official day open was Sept. 20. Since then, Jones and his team have been working to move more than 30,000 pieces of merchandise — including records, CDs, sound equipment and more — to Better Days East at 921 Barret Ave.
The East End location, a 5,500-square-foot space in the Original Highlands neighborhood , is now one of the largest and most eclectic music stores in the Midwest, Jones said.
Better Days West has always differentiated itself by catering to an “urban market,” he said, housing a large selection of gospel, R&B, hip-hop and jazz merchandise. Customers can now find the entirety of the collection Jones has accumulated over decades at Better Days East.