kaleidoscope springfield mo holiday hours

KALEIDOSCOPE SPRINGFIELD MO HOLIDAY HOURS FOR FREE

I had to track down my banker, Curtis Graff, in Florida to borrow the money. “We bought 50 cases of the Daredevils’ album when it came out.

The Piersons liked to promote albums created by popular local bands of the day such as Fools Face, the Undergrass Boys and Entropy.Īnd, especially, the then-newly-formed Ozark Mountain Daredevils, also celebrating a 50th anniversary this year. The store’s initial successful niche was imported albums and lesser-known domestic albums not carried by existing dealers here. Kaleidoscope sold stereo equipment “for about a week.” Single 45-rpm records and eight-track tapes didn’t remain part of the inventory for long, either. Tom and Pam Pierson at the sales counter of the original Kaleidoscope in the 1970s as they began expanding their product offerings beyond just record albums to include an eclectic array of clothing and fashion accessories, zany greeting cards and smoking paraphernalia. “The first customer didn’t show up until about 2 in the afternoon,’” Tom recalls. (He puts stock in dates - he also mentions that he and Pam got married the previous year on Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards’ birthday, December 18.) They opened Kaleidoscope’s door for the first time on the morning of October 9, which Tom notes is John Lennon’s birthday. However, while visiting Pam’s relatives in Branson, they took a day trip to Springfield, saw the “For Rent” sign as they drove along Sunshine and, that very afternoon, signed a lease with landlord C. They had been living in Little Rock, Ark., and were thinking of parlaying Tom’s prior experience as a manager with national book and record retailers into setting up their own business, possibly in Tulsa, Okla. The site now is a parking lot for a Culver’s restaurant. Kaleidoscope originally opened as a record shop in this old house just east of South Fremont Avenue on the south side of East Sunshine Street in 1972 and remained there until the early 2000s.

The Piersons were 20-somethings, newly wed and new to Springfield at the time - 1972 - and almost on a whim, they’d rented an old converted house on the south side of Sunshine Street one door east of Fremont Avenue. So we stepped out of the line and went home to rethink it - and somehow we came up with Kaleidoscope.” “We realized there already was a Rock Shop in Springfield. “But we were standing in line at Empire Bank to set up a business account when we noticed someone two people ahead of us wearing a shirt with that name on it,” Tom recalls of spotting John Gott. When Tom and his wife Pam originally envisioned setting up a small independent store to sell rock ‘n’ roll recordings and stereo hi-fi gear, they planned to call it The Rock Shop. Kaleidoscope’s brightly lit storefront and distinctive sign make the shop stand out in its East Sunshine Street location.

KALEIDOSCOPE SPRINGFIELD MO HOLIDAY HOURS FOR FREE

And there is some unexpected inventory kept out of sight in a back room, given away for free to those in need - more about that later. The look of the store, and the merchandise and services offered therein, have evolved dramatically over the past 50 years.

“And that’s certainly been the case with our business.” “What you see in a kaleidoscope is constantly changing,” he notes, referring to the colorful optical toy.

If you choose to do business with this business, please let the business know that you contacted BBB for a BBB Business Profile.Īs a matter of policy, BBB does not endorse any product, service or business.Tom Pierson says he honestly doesn’t know where the name for his eccentric store - Kaleidoscope - came from, but it’s proved to be appropriate for a half-century. BBB Business Profiles are subject to change at any time. When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.īBB Business Profiles generally cover a three-year reporting period. However, BBB does not verify the accuracy of information provided by third parties, and does not guarantee the accuracy of any information in Business Profiles. BBB asks third parties who publish complaints, reviews and/or responses on this website to affirm that the information provided is accurate. BBB Business Profiles may not be reproduced for sales or promotional purposes.īBB Business Profiles are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment.

Kaleidoscope springfield mo holiday hours