Another Pittsburgh Record Store Closing

BROOKLINE, PA - Three weeks after one of Pittsburgh’s oldest record stores announced it was closing, one more recently opened has shut its doors: Rather Ripped Records in Brookline.

“We apologize for any inconveniences, but at this time we’re temporarily closing out doors,” a post on the store’s Facebook page said. “Thank you in advance for understanding, Pittsburgh.”

The post did not say why the store is closing or when - or if - it might reopen. Rumors of the store’s impending closure have circulated in Brookline for several weeks.

Owner Russ Ketter could not immediately be reached for comment.

Ketter, a South Side native, opened the original Rather Ripped store in Berkley, California in the early 1970s. After moving back to Pittsburgh, he opened Rather Ripped on Butler Street in Lawrenceville in 2012. The store moved to its Brookline Boulevard location in 2015.

The store’s closure comes shortly after Juke Records, a Bloomfield staple for decades under several different names, will close later this year.

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