Duluth’s Electric Fetus Announces It Is Closing After 33 Years

A popular Downtown Duluth staple announced on social media Tuesday afternoon that they will be closing their doors after 33 years in business. In an emotional post also shared on their website, the owners of the Electric Fetus announced they "made the difficult decision to permanently close our Duluth location after having to shut down for COVID-19 since March 2020."

The pandemic has taken a serious toll on many businesses across the country, and it sounds like the pandemic was the last straw for a business that reports they had been struggling for some time.

The quirkily-named music retailer has long been a staple in Duluth's downtown area, right off the intersection of Lake Avenue and Superior Street.

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They explained in their post "We’ve been struggling to get out of the red for several years now in Duluth and it’s just not realistic to make it work and have a successful location in the market." They cite a number of challenges beside the pandemic, including a changing retail environment, the water main break they were impacted by a few years ago, road construction on Superior Street, "and more". They explained these things have "made maintaining a brick-and-mortar presence in the city an uphill climb and not viable."

The company says they will now focus exclusively on their Minneapolis location, sharing that they are "working on exciting things for our Minneapolis location and our web business, and we will be sharing more news very soon."

They completed their post by expressing gratitude. saying "We very much appreciate our time in Duluth, our loyal customers, and the community’s support over the years".