Moondance: Canada’s oldest independent record store will close in April

Moondance Records, the iconic downtown music shop on George Street in Peterborough, is playing its final farewell tune.

After 46 years in business, owner and music aficionado Mike Taveroff says it’s time to close shop as he announced his retirement.

“I think everybody knows online sales overtook physical sales last year and so I said, ‘This is it,'” said Taveroff. “Things have slowed down a lot in the last few years.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I think everybody knows online sales overtook physical sales last year and so I said, 'This is it,'" said Taveroff. "Things have slowed down a lot in the last few years."

The 68-year-old says he’s been wrestling with the idea of when to retire and after nearly five decades in business, as sales continue to decline on top of the 12-hour days in the store, this was as good a time as any.

He’ll look back fondly on the years in business and the connections he made with the customers in the store.

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“I’m lucky, I got to do something I always wanted to do and I’ve always been into tunes,” he said. “And this fed my habit so to speak.”

On Friday afternoon, a handful of music lovers thumbed their way through the vast record collection.

When he was 22 years old, Taveroff set up a record shelf in his late wife’s clothing store called Moondance, a tribute to the Van Morrison song. Taveroff says there were people lining up just to view the albums and in this, he saw an opportunity and decided to open his own store.

Back in the store’s heyday, he says people used to hang around the shop to listen and talk about music — today, it’s not the same.

“Back in the day, people were collectors, unlike today,” he says. “And guys would come in for hours, literally and of course, they would walk out with four or five LPs.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Back in the day, people were collectors, unlike today," he says. "And guys would come in for hours, literally and of course, they would walk out with four or five LPs."

Taveroff prided himself on playing eclectic and unique music that you couldn’t find on the radio.

The shop will officially close on April 28.