West Hollywood Losing Its Virgin-ity?

[Posted by Peter Debruge]
The rock-star murals in the parking structure were the first casualty. Now it's official: The Virgin Megastore at 8000 Sunset is closing in January after something like 15 years in that location. (Don't worry: This isn't a rehash of the Tower Records situation. The company's doing fine, and the Hollywood & Highland location will remain.)

Oh, how that Sunset & Laurel shopping center has changed over the years. I remember watching my share of seminal indie films as a teenager at the Laemmle theater upstairs, once the chain's flagship arthouse. Now, the theater seldom programs anything more exciting than its Rocky Horror-style monthly midnight screening of The Room, sending key movies to its other locations.

The dejected Virgin employee I spoke with yesterday said the company tried everything to keep their lease, including offering to scale back to a single floor, but the complex raised the rent and didn't want to negotiate. I can't imagine what the building management has in mind. A Trader Joe's was said to be going in where the Sam Ash guitar store used to be, but I gather the deal's off, which leaves only that cruisy Crunch gym and its C-list celebs. What gives?

Update: I haven't had a chance to confirm it, but a friend tells me they're planning to use the shopping mall for office space. It already serves as HQ for TMZ.