The idea of the landmark Gramophone Video Shop closing makes Sara Brindisi feel sad. "Oh no!" the 12-year-old said as she left the store with a video in hand. "I'd be so disappointed. I use it all the time."
The well-known video and entertainment store faces eviction if owner Jack Trifero can't work out an arrangement with his landlord, Cody Real Estate. Trifero owes more than $35,000 in back rent, a figure he disputes. He wants to find a way to stay open through Christmas. He also faces the challenge of selling and renting videos and recordings when they are available for free at the New Canaan Library for anyone with a library card.
"The issue is that we can't compete with free, and New Canaan Library has become a video store," said Trifero, 53, who has run Gramophone Records since 1974. He opened the video shop 12 years later. "There are definitely other issues, but we felt this issue was insurmountable. We're trying to work our way through it. It's really a situation no business wants to find itself in."
Trifero says he would like Gramophone to stay open because it has inventory that cannot be purchased anywhere else in town. While the store sells current hit movies, "people know us as a source of other products," Trifero said. "This is a business that people still use in New Canaan. People still find it important."
The New Canaan Library Board of Trustees voted against purchasing Gramophone's 11,000 items, citing space concerns. Trifero said he has contacted other libraries, including those in Darien, Farmington, Greenwich, Westport and Wilton.
Cameron Mason, 21, hopes something can be done to save the day and keep Gramophone open. "It's sad to see for a shop that's been in New Canaan as long as this has," Mason said.
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