And Then There Were None

Six months after the announcement that the Virgin Megastore in Union Square will be closing in early 2009, today comes the news of the same fate for the Times Square store, leaving Manhattan with zero music retail chain outlets. Unless you count joints like Best Buy or Starbucks, which I totally don't.

Says the company that bought Virgin Megastores North America last year: "We bought the Virgin business to wind it down to get a hold of the real estate. Virgin pays only a $54 per square foot when the market rent in the area is about $700."

Of course, when you consider that mega-club Bar Code has sat empty next door to Virgin for the last few years, you gotta wonder who will take the giant space currently held by Virgin. No, wait - I don't wonder at all. It'll be a bank. Sorry, I lost my mind there for a minute.