Latino record shop closes its doors in city

Ritmo Latino Closes Its Doors
By ALISSA FIGUEROA, sfgate.com

They squinted into the emptied space at Mission and 20th streets and wondered aloud what had happened to the record store where they had passed many an afternoon.

The neon sign still screams RITMO LATINO, but inside on Saturday only a few boxes remained.

"It's really unfortunate," said Jorge Bermeo in Spanish. He'd headed to the store around midday to use the money transferring service the store provided; though he planned, like usual, to stick around an extra 10 or 15 minutes to listen at one of the store's music stations.

"It was a way to pass the time," said Bermeo wistfully about the store that had become a fixture for many. It closed on Tuesday, after 19 years in business. Read more here.