'Miracles Do Happen:' Val's Halla Records To Stay Open

OAK PARK, IL — Maybe it's a holiday miracle. "Miracles do happen," Shayne Blakely, owner of Val's Halla Records wrote on the business's Facebook page after announcing that the iconic Oak Park record store would be able to stay open. It had been just 11 days since Blakely announced that the store would close after close to 50 years in Oak Park.

"This was nothing I dared to dream of," Blakely wrote, explaining that he now has a business partner to "see what the store can do without the burden [Blakely] was left with initially" following the death of store founder and Oak Park legend Val Camilletti in 2018.

Blakely took over the store after Camilletti's death after a two-year battle with cancer, which left Oak Park residents in a collective state of mourning. That anguish was echoed when Blakely first announced the store would close. Many residents took to social media to express their disappointment over the news.

The news that the store would stay open brought an influx of comments from residents who were rejoicing.

One fan wrote, "Awesome. Was going to bring my kid in for the first time Sunday and happy to know it won’t be the last!!!"

Blakely wrote that Val's Halla Records will be adding new music to its stock and hosting new bands on its stage. He said, "You say you want us around, now it's time to prove it."

The spirit of Oak Park was renewed with the hope that one of its most iconic businesses would stick around. As one resdient wrote after hearing the news that Val's would stay afloat: "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.