photo by: Gage Vota

Sam Goody at the Ohio Valley Mall is set to close after decades of doing business in the community.

Inside the walls of the Ohio Valley Mall is a relic of a bygone era, but it won’t be there for much longer.

Sam Goody has been an Ohio Valley Mall staple since the store opened in 1980, serving as the premiere location for the local music consumer.

As times changed, however, Sam Goody struggled to adapt. What was once a thriving company operating 1,300 locations during its peak has now become a distant memory for most parts of the country.

Since 2022, there have been only two Sam Goody locations left in the world — one in the Rogue Valley Mall in Medford, Oregon, and one at the Ohio Valley Mall.

Longtime St. Clairsville store manager Rick Polanski said he was informed just after Thanksgiving that the store would be closing. He added that he believes the internet was the inevitable nail in the store’s coffin.

“It’s changed over the years, and it (stinks) — I put two-thirds of my life into this place,” Polanski said. “We were a $2 million store at one point, but times have changed and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Polanski added that he’s enjoyed his 43 years with the store, crediting the shop for being a place where he’s met several friends throughout the time he’s spent with the company.

The news came as a shock to the Cafaro Co., which owns the Ohio Valley Mall. Cafaro Director of Corporate Communications Joe Bell said that he was just informed of Sam Goody’s decision to close on Sunday.

Both Bell and Polanski said Monday they weren’t sure of an official closing date but were informed the company plans to close the store in February.