1.    Lo Pub
2.    Music Trader
3.    Tiny Feast

Music Trader, a beloved Osborne Village institution, shut its doors over two years ago.

Music Trader was just a really great store. It had tons of new vinyl, cheap vinyl, expensive vinyl and weird collector stuff. Polaroids lined the wall, and the store gurus were the perfect mix of intimidatingly cool, nice and nerdy. The in-store shows were always a treat, and many of us likely have hazy memories of baking in the sun in front of the Music Trader stage during the Osborne Village Street Festival.

Osborne Village’s landscape has changed considerably over the last decade, and sadly the demise of Music Trader is one in a series of shutdowns. One can’t mourn Music Trader without also mourning the slow death of Movie Village and the closure of various shops, venues and restaurants.

With the exception of a handful of lovely locally-owned businesses, the Village is comprised of not one but two gigantic gyms, weird and expensive boutiques, numerous massive chain stores and restaurants and a bunch of empty storefronts.

Change can be revitalizing, and there’s no use being too sentimental about the halcyon days of the Village. However, remembering what has been lost might serve to remind us that the remaining gems in the Village need to be supported.

So go buy a coffee from Little Sister on your way to peruse the threads at Shop Take Care, before pouring one out for Music Trader. Hell, make it a sixer and pour one out for Movie Village, Vi Ann, the Collective Cabaret/Die Maschine, Osborne Village Diner and the Zoo while you’re at it.

Published in Volume 74, Number 12 of The Uniter (November 28, 2019)