The Den moves for first time in 30 years

The Den changed more in three days than it has in the 30 years it's been open.\nFrom Oct. 6-8, the store, which has been an institution in downtown Bloomington since 1976, changed its name, its location and even its focus, long-time manager Jim Cushing said. Now called Campustown, the Den moved from its previous home on Kirkwood Avenue to a new location on North Walnut Street.\nA few months ago, the IU Foundation, owner of the building that housed the Den, contacted the business's owners and told them it would not renew the Den's lease, assistant manager Jason Hackett said. The IU Foundation ultimately allowed the Den to remain in the building for two months until the owners found a new location.\nThe IU Foundation's public relations manager, Barbara Coffman, said the Den had a long-term lease for the Kirkwood Avenue location, which the IU Foundation declined to renew because of "issues about (their) business relationship." Coffman would not elaborate on what the specific problems were.\nCushing said he was unaware of any issues between the two companies.\n"If there were issues, they were never addressed to me," Cushing said. "My working relationship with the IU Foundation has always been good."\nThe IU Foundation purchased the property about 10 years ago, Coffman said. The Foundation occasionally buys property at the University's request because the process is faster, she said.\nThe IU Foundation is now looking for new tenants for the venue, Coffman said. Meanwhile, the new Campustown has moved to North Walnut Street between Seventh and Eighth streets, next to Scotty's Brewhouse, replacing Sol Spa.\n"It is kind of a trade-off," Cushing said. "We lose the foot traffic from Kirkwood but gain from people being able to park because that was always a big complaint on Kirkwood. Plus, it's great being next to Scotty's and across from Kilroy's Sports because they both do a lot of business."\nThe Den used to carry fountain drinks, health and beauty items and smoking accessories, Cushing said. The new location will carry mostly IU and greek merchandise, he said. \nNot everyone appreciates the Den's transformation, however. For sophomore Nick Molin, a Bloomington resident, the Den was the best place to hang out when he was about 14.\n"It was just a nice place to walk into," Molin said. "It had the same appeal as a gas station -- you could buy cigarettes and energy drinks."\nMolin used to skateboard around the Den, but in the last couple of years he said he has noticed a change in the merchandise at the store and said it has become, for lack of a better word, "frattier."\n"It used to be more townie," Molin said. "It was hippie, stoner, college chic. I never remembered them selling lettered shirts until recently."\nWhen the store first opened in 1976, it sold records. The focus of the Den continued to be music for years, until students began downloading music, Cushing said.\n"College students don't buy music anymore -- they steal it off the Internet," Cushing said. "It's all about file-sharing and downloading now."\nThe era of the iPod led the Den to pursue more apparel merchandising, Cushing said. Clothing sold so well that now the business will print letters on clothing on-site, he said.\n"We just started, but (clothing sales) have gotten bigger and bigger," Cushing said. "We've discontinued other items to continue to keep that our focus."\nThe Den moved and changed to Campustown over the weekend of Oct. 6 and opened Oct. 9, Cushing said. He plans on a grand opening over homecoming weekend, Oct. 26-28, but in the meantime still has to hammer out some details at the new store.\n"Right now it's about getting walls up and the heat working," Cushing said. "The little stuff"