The vibe inside Bridgeport Records on Chicago’s South Side went from crate-digging chill to sheer panic Saturday night, after the owners say a man who had been browsing in the shop later called and threatened to kill them. Co-owner Jerry Morrison said the caller unleashed racial and homophobic slurs, claimed he would bring a bomb, and left the lights and music still going as customers scattered. No one was hurt, and the owners say the ugly encounter does not reflect how the neighborhood has treated the shop since it opened last summer.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Morrison told police the call came in around 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Officers were able to ping the caller’s location in the Bridgeport neighborhood. Morrison described the caller as “an older white man who had been in the store,” and police confirmed they are investigating the threat. No arrest had been made at the time the story was published.
How the shop fits into Bridgeport’s music scene
Bridgeport Records bills itself as a home base for house and dance music and has quickly turned into a hangout spot for DJs and collectors since opening in July 2024, Block Club Chicago reported. The shop is the brainchild of house producer Vick Lavender and former labor leader Jerry Morrison, a cross-world collaboration first chronicled by the Chicago Reader when the store launched.
Owners push back and plan to keep the music playing
Morrison told the Chicago Sun-Times that after the call, the owners cleared the shop and sent customers home, but they fully intend to reopen. “They ain’t messing with us,” he said. Morrison described the threat as an act of emboldened hostility, yet emphasized that the broader Bridgeport community has otherwise welcomed the store. Police are continuing their investigation.
