In business, sometimes location is just about everything.
Just ask Terry Xanthos, whose Sonic Garden music store, 748 E. 820 North, Provo, is just a block away from the BYU campus."Yeah, location is definitely a key, I think," said Xanthos, who is also a local concert promoter and works for the Edge dance club. "It's really helped us to start things up."
The store, which focuses its compact disc sales on "alternative-rock" music, is celebrating its first anniversary this week. But Xanthos originally envisioned opening a clothing store before he took over the lease from a failed business partnership.
"It wasn't really my idea to start with," he said. "But I'm definitely not sorry I did it now."
Sonic Garden sells new and used CDs - with jazz, blues, new age and some country supplementing the store's selection - and tickets for concerts from local promoters in addition to Xanthos. It also offers a "listening bar," where customers can preview new and used CDs for quality. The used CDs are also guaranteed against damage.
"It's important that people should be able to buy what they want, especially with music," he said. "Why spend $14 for a CD when you're actually spending $14 for one song, even if it is a killer song. If they can listen to new CDs, they may wind up saving money."
Store policy also allows customers to trade or sell their used CDs. Credit from the CDs, which can range from $1 to $6 or more in some cases, can be used to buy new or used CDs from the store.
"Sometimes all it takes is two good used CDs to get even the new releases," Xanthos said. "If customers don't want to have to spend money, they can use their CDs as cash."
Sonic Garden will also special order CDs for customers, with most orders taking only a week to arrive.
Xanthos also recently opened a Salt Lake Sonic Garden location, 861 E. 900 South, and ultimately envisions as many as four other stores throughout the state - probably in Logan and Ogden to the north and Cedar City and St. George to the south.
"Right now we want to concentrate on the two stores," he said. "But I thought if things went our way and we had a good business we could easily open a second store. I just never thought we'd open it in nine months. Plus we've doubled this store."
In addition to its CD and ticket sales - which are also available for credit card purchase by calling either 37-SONIC in Provo or 27-SONIC in Salt Lake - Sonic Garden serves as a resource for local artists, since the store will sell their independent releases on consignment.