Sonic Boom Records is moving to Chinatown, closing Kensington and Honest Ed’s shops

Hip luddites can say goodbye to both the Annex and Kensington Market outlets of Sonic Boom Records, the go-to spots for rare vinyl and obscure indie releases. (The Kensington location will close later this summer and the Bathurst Street location will follow suit in September.) No need to panic, though: the music retailer is consolidating its stock and moving to a 12,000-square-foot space at 215 Spadina Avenue—i.e. the same historic factory building on the Chinatown strip that houses Dark Horse Espresso Bar (which isn’t going anywhere). “We wanted be an early contributor to all the exciting changes happening on Spadina and jumped at this opportunity when we found the space,” said owner Jeffrey Barber in a press release. “It’s as if it was made for a record store. Sonic Boom is going to be better than ever.” Sonic will be the first Honest Ed’s tenant to relocate in anticipation of the iconic store’s permanent closure in December 2016 and eventual condo conversion. Meanwhile, Chinatown just keeps on a-changing.