Steve’s Music Store, the Queen Street shop that was a magnet for musicians, music lovers and instrument aficionados since opening in 1977, is officially closing its doors.
On Saturday, the liquidator Continental Auctioneers confirmed to the Toronto Star that the store will close within a couple of weeks.
Last weekend, the Montreal-based chain of the same name, founded by the late Steve Kirman, announced a massive liquidation that included the Toronto store and four other locations in Ottawa and Quebec.
Since that news broke, there’s been a steady flow of customers walking into the Toronto store with nostalgia on their minds. Some say the shop and its knowledgeable staff helped shape their own taste, and many don’t remember a time when Steve’s Music Store wasn’t part of the culture.
Hometown comedian Mike Myers was inspired to write a punchline for his 1992 comedy “Wayne’s World” after he saw a sign once displayed in the store that jokingly banned anyone from playing “Stairway to Heaven.” MuchMusic VJs often brought their rock-star interviews to the spot, since it was only a short walk from their 299 Queen St. W. studio.
More than a dozen plaques line the wall behind the front desk, bestowed by the defunct weeklies Now and Eye Magazine who named the store among the “best of Toronto” in the late ‘90s and early aughts. Those plaques are now joined at the store by liquidation tags, and a lingering sadness.
At around lunchtime on Friday, for a couple of hours, a pair of 17-year-old musicians huddled in the acoustic guitar section, lamenting the store’s closure. Seamus Donohue and Leonard Hesita were playing whatever rock songs that come to mind: Alice in Chains, Eagles, and Stevie Ray Vaughan mixed with a couple from their own band, the Jacks of All Trades. Every so often, a customer paused to watch before returning to sift through what remains of the dwindling instruments and gear. It was an experience that both young musicians were trying to process.
“When I came inside the store and saw the empty guitar holders, I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ ” Hesita exclaimed.
“This is a pretty legendary place in Toronto,” he added. “Seeing it go is just sad.”
The wind-down
Earlier this month, a conference call between head office and the Toronto staff gave the first clear sign the store was in trouble. They were laying off about half of the employees, leaving them with about 10 people to handle the liquidation of assets.
Last week, a statement posted on its website explained Steve’s Music Store had launched a restructuring process aimed at saving its business, which had been hurt by a “significant disruption across the sector.”
“We will be conducting an in-store liquidation sale and, over the coming months, will close certain locations,” it said.
Steve’s Music Store vice-president Michael Kerman did not respond to numerous emails and phone calls seeking comment. Andy Chelminski, who is overseeing the liquidation, told the Star only the flagship location on rue Sainte-Catherine in Montreal might yet survive. (If it does, the business will also keep operating online.)
The history
Steve Kirman was only 18 when he opened his first Steve’s Music Store location in Old Montreal. It was 1965, and the fast-moving rock scene was opening a new market for music retailers, prompting Kirman to quickly expand the store to an entire Montreal city block.
His Toronto location opened in 1977 near the corner of Queen and Spadina, where its scrappy black-and-yellow sign was hard to miss. It was a convenient walk from many of the city’s bustling bars and clubs, including the Horseshoe Tavern across the street, so touring musicians often stopped by to pick up needed gear or simply treat themselves.
(In 2010, the familiar Queen Street West location drew a different kind of attention, becoming the backdrop of G20 protests when a police cruiser was lit on fire outside the store, the car’s flame melting the famed black-and-yellow storefront sign.)
Kirman died in 2012 after a brief illness, leaving his son to assume the day-to-day operations.
The final days
With the countdown to its closure well underway, many customers are swinging by to offer their condolences to familiar faces on the staff and share memories of a place that helped define their youth.
John Merchant is one of them.
The former employee started working at the store in 1982 and stuck around for the better part of the decade. It was enough time to see an era of Canadian music royalty come through the doors. He rattles off some of the names like a checklist: piano virtuoso Oscar Peterson, rock trio Triumph, Kim Mitchell and his band Max Webster and prog-rock idols Rush.
“I sold Geddy Lee a Steinberger bass,” he beams.
Another memorable experience involved Simon and Garfunkel’s team calling up the store with an emergency request.
“Their bass amp blew up when they turned it on,” Merchant said. “I happened to have my rig here, so I drove it down to the stadium, and was on stage for sound check, which was, whoa.”
Musicians said they came to rely on the store. Edward Ambrosius, 60, used to live a block away and says he made a habit of stopping by every Friday to test out a few guitars.
“Their selection was top-notch,” he said. “Every guitar was tuned properly; the intonation was perfect.”
On Friday, he decided to resurrect that old ritual one last time, perched on a stool in the acoustic guitar section. He softly played a few notes and reflected on how the times are different, as more musicians are raised on digital over analog.
“People have changed; the whole market has changed,” he said.
“If a child is spending like two or three hours a day playing video games, looking at YouTube and other stuff, to learn an instrument is tough, especially guitars.”
Add to that more shoppers buying instruments online, the effects of tariffs, and a business that might’ve not adjusted to the growing number of musicians who create music on computers.
David Matthews, who’s worked at the Toronto location for the better part of two decades, said he’s witnessed some of the decline firsthand.
When he was hired in 2000, he estimates there were a dozen people running the front desk and handfuls more in other departments. About a decade later, those numbers had been “dramatically reduced,” though the business still seemed to be going strong.
“We had a very busy Christmas,” he said. “Then, after a couple of weeks … there was nothing really showing up (for new inventory). We thought the writing was on the wall.”
“The place has always had its ups and downs,” he added. “We had COVID, we had Amazon, but we’ve always went above it.”
This time, Matthews is certain Steve’s Music has played its final song.
