NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — December 31 marks the final day for The Groove record store at its familiar Calvin Ave. location in East Nashville. The owners are now working out details on the store's next location and plan to announce where they'll move in 2026. While this isn't a goodbye to a Nashville business, many are reflecting on the memories made on Calvin Ave.
The Groove is a record store that leans into the unique. A wall displayed a poster of the 1987 film The Monster Squad while a Kylie Minogue album played in the room.
"Oh, they got Charlie Brown!" said one customer, pointing to a soundtrack for It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown.
"Found the Carl Stalling Project, a bunch of Warner Bros. cartoon music, and then the score to [the 1981 horror film] The Funhouse!" said another customer, flipping through records.
A cross stitch of the cast of Scream 4 overlooked the crowd of shoppers.
"I know I may sound kind of dramatic, but I think this may be my favorite record shop in the world," a customer smiled.
It was 2021, NewsChannel 5 visited The Groove owners Jesse Cartwright and Michael Combs.
"You can stand next to somebody in silence and go through the bins or you can carry on a conversation while you do it," Cartwright said.
"Find a new best friend," Combs added.
It was during this 2021 visit they shared the property owner was looking to sell.
"This is the call I was waiting for, but I didn't want," Cartwright continued. "We're called Music City for a reason, and we don't want to lose that altogether."
There were fundraisers and community efforts to try to help the two buy the building, but coming up to today, the plan is to move the business.
"It's really special and unique what Nashville has," a customer said. "If you don't support these local record shops, what makes Nashville so special will start to get lost."
Cartwright and Combs said their intention was always to establish an LGBTQ-owned record shop that would be judgement-free on what kind of music people loved, whether it be Cyndi Lauper's She's So Unusual or a spoken word Vincent Price album.
The Groove opened in East Nashville in 2007, while Cartwright and Combs took over in 2017. Sometimes an impact on a community is bigger than the years a place has been around. The Groove was the original location for Spooky Ghoul Fest. While the store is no longer involved, the Halloween event of music and vendors has grown into something huge and beloved. The Groove has also long been the location of Fright Night Fridays, where they'd host outdoor screenings of scary movies for the community.
Wherever they end up next, Cartwright and Combs said the plan is to continue Fright Night Fridays and continue the unique.
"I'm really sad to see that it's going, but I'm looking forward to going to visit them in their new place," a customer said.
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
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