If you’ve ever flown out of Sea-Tac Airport, you may have fond memories of stopping by the Sub Pop store to grab vinyl, apparel, or a unique gift emblematic of the Seattle music scene. Unfortunately, those days will soon be a thing of the past. Sub Pop announced today (Friday, December 19) that the Sub Pop Airport Store will be closing at the end of the month.
Read on for all the details.
The Sub Pop store at Sea-Tac Airport will be open through the end of the month if you’d like to stop by one last time to stock up. Their last day open will be December 31.
In the Instagram post announcing the closure, Sub Pop wrote:
After 12 wildly improbable years of high-flying good times at Sea-Tac Airport, the Sub Pop Airport Store will be closing on December 31, 2025. Before we taxi off for good, come through and take some lovingly curated “junk” home with you. More importantly, thank you—truly—to every customer, music lover, artist, and employee who passed through our little outpost. You filled it with heart, soul, curiosity, and laughter, and turned an airport shop into something that felt like community. You were the wind beneath our wings (the non-megalomaniacal kind), and we’ll always be grateful for every minute we got to share with you.”
Sub Pop Records originated in Seattle in the mid-1980s, founded by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman as an independent label that initially grew out of a fanzine and cassette compilation project. The label became significant for helping define and popularize the “grunge” sound, signing and promoting influential bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney before they achieved mainstream success. Sub Pop’s distinctive branding, gritty aesthetic, and focus on raw, underground music played a major role in putting Seattle on the global music map in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Beyond grunge, the label has remained important for supporting diverse and innovative artists across indie rock and alternative music, maintaining its reputation as a tastemaker and champion of independent music.
Luckily, Seattleites and visitors alike can still shop for vinyl and apparel at Sub Pop’s South Lake Union store located at 2130 7th Ave.