Bric-A-Brac Records in Avondale loses thousands of rare records to burst pipes

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Bric-A-Brac Records & Collectibles in Avondale has lost thousands of records, VHS tapes and other items after pipes burst during the weekend's deep freeze.

Store owners said they lost at least 4,000 LPs, a couple thousand VHS tapes and vintage toys after four frozen pipes burst on Christmas Day.

"It was flooding so much up here, it just went down to the basement and it was spewing down the walls, just getting through any crack, nook and cranny, you can find," said co-owner Nick Mayor.

Mayor cut his family Christmas celebration short in Alabama to return to Chicago to deal with the mess. His wife, Jennifer Lemasters, stayed behind and was the first to check out the damage.

"I was kinda of prepared to just like burst into tears when I first saw it, but I think since it was only half of the shop, I felt lucky it wasn't everything," she said.

Bric-A-Brac specializes in rare albums, vintage toys from the '80s and '90s, VHS tapes and other collectibles. One of the store's signature record collects is horror movie soundtracks.

"People come to us for our soundtrack selection and that was one of the three bins that took the brunt of the water;100% of that inventory is gone," Mayor said.

Insurance will cover the financial loss, but that doesn't mean hard-to-find inventory destroyed can be replaced.

"It's vintage and even the new product is hyper limited," Mayor said.

Mayor and Lemasters have owned Bric-A-Brac for 10 years. They moved to a bigger location on Milwaukee Ave. in Avondale exactly one year ago.

"The most daunting part is it feels like we are going to have to start all over again a little bit," Lemasters said.

The goal is to reopen the shop sometime in January. Meanwhile, the owners said they are in the market to buy-tough-to get LP's and vintage toys.