Unlike predecessors Hi-Fi Records and the Clubhouse, the newly opened Metro Store will not focus on selling music. "We decided our main purpose for this store is to promote the Metro," store manager Kelley Fowler says. The space certainly feels like an extension of the famed rock club, with its red interior, a colorful array of handmade Frank Kozik-style posters advertising some of the Metro's most memorable shows and a checkered black-and-white section of linoleum floor. You could actually call the Metro Store an extension of the club itself, as there is a door connecting the shop to the club that remains open during all shows.

As was the case with Hi-Fi Records, the Metro Store serves as the ticket box office, but now with more sensible daily hours. Except for a case of cold beverages (no beer, sorry, just soda and juice), a rack of punk and underground music magazines, a blackboard listing upcoming show dates, and some Metro merchandise for sale, the store is rather bare, providing plenty of room for each night's band to hock their wares.

The store plans to host "meet-and greet" events; the future may hold in-store performances by musicians and bands as well. A listening station opposite the box office allows visitors to sample tunes from bands scheduled to soon play the Metro.

Centerstage Reviewer: Joanne Hinkel