Double Decker Records – 808 St. John Street, Allentown, Pennsylvania 18013
Closed
When I paid a visit in Ocotober 2017, Double Decker Records was alive and well. Then in its 20th year, it would stay open until December 2023, when it decided to permanently turn off the lights. Below are pictures and the post of my 2017 visit.
One my way back from Jerry’s Records in Pittsburgh, I stopped in at Double Decker (opened in 1996), one of Lehigh Valley’s finest. It’s also on Thrillist’s list of the best 21 record stores in the country. While it had a wide variety of records, I noted alot of Indie, punk and industrial among their offerings. Didn’t have time to go into the bargain room. Happily picked up some old Of Montreal records for the collection. Well worth a dig.
Here’s a link to DJFunktal’s 2012 Record Store Walking Tour of the store, to see more of what it has to offer.
Alas, all good things must come to an end. WFMZ.com, the web site of WFMZ-69 TV, a local news station serving parts of Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey, wrote about the store’s then iminent closing in their November 21, 2023 piece ‘Want to go out strong’: Beloved Allentown record store to close after 27 years. The article interviews owner Jamie Holmes about the store and his decision to close Double Decker Records after 27 years. This despite the fact that 2023 had been a very good year for this well regarded store.
But perhaps you can still visit the ghost of Double Decker Records. As reported in TribLive.com on January 19, 2024, New Kensington record store owner buys out Allentown shop, opening 2nd location. A.J. Rassau purchased the entire inventory of Double Decker Records (4 tractor trailers worth), and used it to open a store Preserving Record Shop in New Kensington Pennsylvania. New Kensington is close to, but not in Pittsburgh. At the time of this update (March 2024) Preseving was open for business.
