Calumet Closes Its Doors

…and another giant falls in the interminable death march of retail.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time and money down at the Chicago Calumet location buying all sorts of good stuff for both myself and my company. Especially in time sensitive situations, having a place to purchase professional grade equipment locally has been invaluable. The employees were always extremely helpful (I wish them only the best) and I enjoyed the chance to see one last place that had stacks of refrigerated film for sale.

However, as of today Calumet is filing for Chapter 7 and closing down all its locations in the United States. With the demise of Helix last year, it looks like the future for video and photography professionals in Chicago is almost entirely online. I love the Amazons and B and H-es of the world, but nothing can quite replace the feeling of standing somewhere full of people just like you, who all love the same thing, looking at the same great gear. I didn’t care when Circuit City and the like shut down, but some places are more than just stores. Borders was a great place to meet a friend and quietly read, and Funcoland was where I discovered my love of videogames. Both are long gone.

The announcement took me by surprise, but apparently there have been rumblings inside the company for some time. PetaPixel has a revealing interview if you want to read more about what’s been going down.