KENOSHA, Wis. — There is nothing like the feeling of listening to your favorite song to get you through the day and for Candy Eisenhauer, music is what inspired her to open up her shop, 'CD DVD GAME Warehouse' in Kenosha.
“I’ve said it many times, who doesn’t wanna talk about music all day long?” said Candy.
Since 1996, when it was called back then 'CD Warehouse', Candy said she had countless conversations with customers about everything from country music to rock.
“Sometimes I didn’t get anything done because I can stand over at the shelves and talk about that band with someone else for two hours,” said Candy.
Over the years to keep up with changing times, Candy eventually started adding DVDs, video games, and vinyl to the inventory. She is even placing some of their music and DVD collection on Amazon.
“Pretty soon Napster shows up, in 1998 or 1999, and we had to do something new - so we brought in DVDs,” said Candy.
As the popularity of streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music and Netflix skyrocketed, Candy said it’s been hard to keep up.
“Unfortunately, this store, what we do here is no longer relative because people are downloading, people are streaming,” said Candy.
At the beginning of February, Candy will close up shop.
“I had an owner of another store come in and congratulate me because he closed his store about ten years ago. He came and congratulated me for lasting as long as I did. It’s just so difficult with a brick and mortar,” said Candy.
The news comes as a big disappointment for customers like Mike Latta, who is an avid physical media collector.
“You come in here to find the gems you can’t find anywhere else,” said Mike.
He said it’s important to show support for local small business owners during changing times and technology.
“When one of these shops closes, new ones don’t open up very often,” said Mike.
As for right now, Candy is working to make sure everything in the shop must go.
“There’s a lot of stuff still in the store and I don’t wanna take it home,” said Candy.
However, what will remain with her are the countless memories made with music lovers all across Kenosha.
“Thank you I guess is all I can say. Thank you for everything you’ve done, for supporting us for so long," said Candy.
