Hits and Misses days are numbered. The Queen West punk record store, which has been around (in various locations) for 20 years, announced yesterday that it would have to close its doors in less than two weeks on account of a breach of contract with the landlord of the storefront it occupies. It's a familiar tale. Store owner Pete Genest notes that he's drowning in debt, and one presumes just can't keep up with the rent.

This is sad news for Toronto music fans in general, but will hurt punk and hardcore lovers the most. Where else can you find the variety of seven inch singles that Hits and Misses stocks? Yeah, nowhere. And that, of course, might be part of the problem. Record stores face serious challenges as it is, and the niche players must be struggling even more to remain financially viable.

The exact date of closure and the concomitant fire sale are due to be announced later today. For now, here's the note that Genest posted to the store's blog yesterday. And, as he says, now would be a good time to go buy something!

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The landlord is sending me a breach of contract against me at the store. It is for many reasons, but he has the right to do so. With this breach of contract he can legally give me a 14 day notice to vacate the premises. He did that a few days ago. I have been trying to work something out over the last few days to stay open until the end of October, but he is not buying and wants me out.

In the next 24 hours I will announce the final day the store is open, etc. This all went down today around 2pm this afternoon. So I am still in a bit of shock and totally overwhelmed with what has to get down before closing the store.

I am in debt over my head and with no store front to sell stuff out of, so PLEASE if possible in the next week and half, if you can afford to buy anything from the store, it would be greatly appreciated.