Twist & Shout Owner on Sale of Building: ‘We’re Not Going Anywhere’

On Thursday, the local news outlet Denverite noticed that the building that houses the record store Twist & Shout has been listed for sale for $4 million.

The listing, represented by Pinnacle Real Estate Advisors, includes the 13,303-square-foot building occupied by Twist & Shout, Chipotle and New World Cheese — but not the entire complex in the 2500 block of East Colfax Avenue, which was constructed in 2006 and also houses the Tattered Cover Book Store and the Sie FilmCenter.

On Friday morning, Westword caught up with the building’s proprietor, Paul Epstein, who also owns and co-founded Twist & Shout, to find out more.

Epstein assures patrons that the record store is staying right where it is.

The reason the building is being put up for sale, he says, is because he doesn’t enjoy being a landlord.

“There’s a whole bunch of stuff that goes with being a landlord that I’m not that into. I just want to be a retailer," Epstein says. “It’s pretty much that simple. I still want to have Twist & Shout and not have to be a developer. I want to have that off my plate so that I can just focus on [the record store]."

Epstein also says that selling the building won’t have any effect on Twist & Shout being its primary occupant.

“One thing we’ve learned is that pretty much nobody is going to buy that building without us in it, so we’re not going anywhere," he says. “We are the primary source of income for the building…and we are absolutely part of the community.”

Asked whether there are any plans to invest proceeds from a sale, Epstein chuckled. “A large amount of it is owed to the bank, so it’s not like I’m suddenly going to be the richest man in Denver or anything like that.”

Really, he says, it just comes down to dedicating his time to what he cares about most: “being the best record store in the world.”