Facebook / Imagine Books and Records
Ezra Hurd (right) and his family stand outside Imagine Books and Records, a retail spot that also doubled as a DIY concert venue for 10 years.
"I am sad to say that Imagine will be closing its doors after nearly 10 years of business," wrote Ezra Hurd, whose family owns the store.
In addition to hosting the weeklong Imagine Fest, which attracted national and even international musical acts, the shop served as a DIY performance space for a variety of up-and-coming local artists.
In spring of 2020, the Hurd family set up an online fundraiser to keep the store open as the pandemic canceled music tours and slashed retail traffic. The shop met its $5,000 goal in less than 24 hours.
This time, however, the family made no mention of trying to raise funds to keep Imagine in operation. The store will hold a sale this weekend to close out its inventory, according to the Facebook post.
"We want to take this moment to say thank you to everyone for giving my family and I such rich and fulfilling lives these past years," Hurd wrote. "You all have filled our hearts with kindness, support, laughter, beautiful memories and great music. We will always remember the many different communities and people that have come through the shop. There are too many people to name, so we will simply say thank you. Though this chapter of our lives has to come an end many more memories and happiness will be in our future."
Facebook users thanked the family for its labor of love and cited the store's lasting impact on the local music scene.
"The Imagine scene was an indelible, central piece of San Antonio music history in the 2010s," Youth Orchestra of San Antonio musical director Troy Peters posted. "Thank you to the whole family for curating and hosting so much magic."
Imagine will conduct its weekend sale from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday.
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