Latest news with #SASItalianRecords
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Beloved family-run record store in Brooklyn to close its doors amid financial challenges
BENSONHURST, Brooklyn (PIX11) — A beloved Brooklyn record shop that's been part of the Bensonhurst community for nearly 60 years is preparing to close its doors. Silvana Conte's parents opened SAS Italian Records in 1967, driven by a dream to bring Italian-Americans a taste of home. More Local News 'I grew up here and I raised my son in here on top of everything else,' said Conte. 'We would do homework in the back together while we took care of the customers. This was the place for everybody to come to, to buy things that were Italian.' What started as a record store selling cassettes and CDs has evolved over the years, offering everything from beauty products and household items to Italian novelties — bringing a touch of Italy to Brooklyn. The shop has become a neighborhood staple, but following the recent passing of Conte's mother, it will soon close its doors for good. Conte says she kept the store open to preserve her mother's legacy, but with mounting financial challenges, the family has made the painful decision to let it go. 'She used to come down here and say, 'This is my goal store. This is what I created.' And I said, 'Don't worry, it's going to be here.' And now she's not here and I can't — I did what I could,' she said, holding back tears. News of the closure has hit longtime customers hard. Paul Ingrisano stopped by for one of his last visits, hoping to hold on to a few memories. 'Always playing Italian music in the summertime and in the streets walking by it just reminds me of my childhood and growing up in the area,' said Ingrisano. He added, 'I came to support, buy a coffee maker and a keychain. Buy something before it closes.' Salvatore Fuda has been coming to the shop for years and said its closing brings a wave of nostalgia. 'I feel bad 'cause it's good memories that's all. Memories old fashioned, old times. Good memories,' said Fuda. Conte doesn't have an exact closing date yet, but she's hoping the store's legacy will live on in the hearts of everyone it touched. 'I want people to remember the good things, you know. All the beautiful memories that we've had here and how we all supported each other,' she said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Post
5 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
NYC's only Italian record store will close after family feud following matriarch's death: ‘This is my identity'
This is no amicable arrivederci. The city's only Italian-language record store faced a changing neighborhood, streaming services and a pandemic — but it was the death of a matriarch and family feud that brought about the final curtain. Advertisement SAS Italian Records in Bensonhurst will close after nearly 60 years in business once it sells off its inventory of Italian-language CDs and records, owner-operator Silvana Conte tearfully confirmed to The Post. 6 SAS Italian Records on 18th Avenue will shutter for good once its inventory of Italian-language CDs and records is sold off, 69-year-old owner-operator Silvana Conte tearfully confirmed to The Post. Gabriella Bass 'This is breaking my heart, I'm having a breakdown: this is my identity,' said Conte, whose parents opened the store in 1967 after emigrating from Ponza, Italy. 'The store was everything to my family … [but] inheritances being what they are, it's not up to me anymore.' Advertisement Conte, 69, 'held on' to the store after years of declining sales and pandemic-related struggles in order to preserve her mother Rita's legacy – but was forced to make the decision to close up shop following the death of her mother on May 12 , she said. 'We haven't been making money in a long time. I was just keeping it open for my mom,' Conte explained. 'My brother and my sister, they don't want this,' she added. 'My brother thinks my sister's right – he thinks it's a waste of time, why would you want to keep this open? [But] he doesn't live here, he lives far away.' 6 'This is breaking my heart, I'm having a breakdown: this is my identity,' said Conte, whose parents opened the store in 1967. Gabriella Bass Advertisement The wood-paneled time capsule of Italian movies, magazines, accessories, rosaries and other ephemera is a treasure trove of Conte family history, the owner said. 'I had my first kiss right there,' Conte recalled, pointing across the counter. 'My grandmother died right over there. 'This store is everything, it's history … My whole family is represented here.' 6 Ciro Conte (middle right, white shirt) and his wife Rita Conte (blue dress) opened the store in 1967. Gabriella Bass Advertisement SAS — named for the original owners' children Silvana, Adrianne and Silverio — once peddled thousands of Italian music CDs and 'all the Italian DVDs,' Conte said. At its peak, the store would purchase about 50 weekly Italian puzzle magazines – 'La Settinana Enigmistica' – and would regularly sell out in the once booming Italian-American enclave. 'Today we order five and we're left with two at the end of a month,' Conte sighed. 'This neighborhood has changed – [there's] very few Italians left.'. The record store's closing comes on the heels of another 18th Avenue decades-old institution, Bari Pork Store, closing its doors later this month. 6 'My identity is here, and it's disappearing — just like this neighborhood,' Conte said. 'The Italian identity is disappearing from here. Gabriella Bass 'There's not that much business anymore,' an employee told the Italian Enclaves Instagram account on Monday. 'The area changed so drastically that you can't keep up anymore … local people don't patronize. 'We can't survive the 'holiday' customers only,' another worker said, referring to those who moved out of Bensonhurst and only come back to shop for special occasions. 'We need them steady.' Conte said the cultural identity 'is disappearing.' 'My identity is here, and it's disappearing — just like this neighborhood,' Conte said. 'This really was a 'Little Italy' – but once all the families moved out and lost the language … every year you could tell a little less a little less.' Advertisement 6 'I'm going to miss this place, a lot of people in this neighborhood are going to miss this place,' said Sergio Macaluso, 63, who rode to the store Wednesday on a Vespa. Gabriella Bass Longtime customers and neighbors paid their respects to the beloved mom-and-pop shop last week. 'I'm going to miss this place, a lot of people in this neighborhood are going to miss this place,' Sergio Macaluso, 63, a retired copper salesman, told The Post. 'Now it won't be here, it's another memory going away.' Angela Scimone, 72– who grew up in the neighborhood but now lives in Staten Island — was in the store shopping for banners from Italy with her husband. Advertisement 'When I first came here from Sicily, I was 19, [and] I met your father right here in the store,' she told Conte in Italian, 'and he said he was going to marry me! He was so funny.' 6 An array of Italian-language DVDs remain at the Bensonhurst store. Gabriella Bass Conte told The Post the only Hail Mary the store has left would be for an 'angel' investor to take over. Advertisement 'I want to keep this because this is part of a culture – people here are calling this a landmark and I tried,' Conte added. 'I tried to keep it going, but she died, and that was it. 'I can't hold this up anymore,' she added. 'You got to live.'
