DENVER — After 33 years of running legendary record store Twist and Shout, owners Jill and Paul Epstein have decided its time to retire.
The couple started the Denver store in 1988 at the original location at 724 South Pearl St. Since then, the store has kept up with the time by not only changing locations, but kept up with the change in music formats from vinyl to the digital age.
“The store I purchased at a tax auction in 1988 was very poorly stocked, so I had to bring in at that time my (album) collection,” Paul Epstein said. “Vinyl is king again now which I’m thrilled to say.”
The Epsteins were both high school English teachers when they bought the store in the 80s. But Paul said music has always been his passion.
“I am one of those kids who of a certain generation saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and it changed my life,” he said. “Ever since that point, music has been the primary thing in my life.”
Twist and Shout moved into the current spot located in Denver at 2508 E. Colfax Ave. in 2006, providing customers with everything from vinyl to Compact discs, blue rays and DVDs and a variety of music related gifts. But he and his wife feel now is the time for the store to change hands. Recently, they announced that their long-time general manager Patrick Brown will take over as the store’s new owner.
“Patrick started as a customer and he was just another kid who came in the store,” Epstein said. “I know he gets it and he’ll put his own stamp on it, but the core principles that made it a great store will remain.”
“I believe I’m the only person who’s worked at every single location we had,” Brown said. “We’ve made a lot of decisions together, me working as the general manager here, so a lot of the feel you get in the store, I’ve had a hand in as well.”
Brown said although there’s a change in ownership helping customers shop for records and thumb through bins is still priority number one.
“Nothing is going to change on that front,” Brown said. “The main change is not going to see Paul out there at the vinyl counter all the time.”
Epstein said it doesn’t seem like it’s been over 30 years since they first opened the doors to the vinyl venue. He believes that the store has become part of Denver life, and if it were to disappear, a huge hole in the cultural and musical life of our city would appear.
“Music is my passion, but the community is what we share together,” Epstein said. “And that’s the thing that made this store so special was that the community met here, found common ground here, this was their place and I’m so proud of that, I’m so happy and grateful that its going on.”
For more information about Twist and Shout.
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