The Wilma Report

In 2004 Sweat Records established itself as ground zero for Miami's fledgling indie scene. Store owners Sara Yousuf and Lauren "Lolo" Reskin not only offered the most diverse selection of CDs and records in Miami-Dade, but also created a sense of indie community by hosting live shows by local acts.

All of that came to a sudden halt when Wilma struck this past October. That hurricane left a big old hole in the second story of their building and a sign on the front that read: We will be closed until further notice. In a scene that feeds off momentum and hype, the loss was devastating.

Recently Sweat relocated to Churchill's. Burner sat down with Reskin at its new location to find out why it is in the club's warehouse.

What the hell happened?

The old place was a good location that was scummy. We had put a lot of work into making it nice and hospitable, and when Hurricane Wilma happened, we took a serious hit. The whole front wall of the upstairs portion, which we didn't use, fell out into the street and left our ceiling exposed to the elements.... Our landlord promised us he was talking to contractors and was going to fix the building. But he was always saying, "Next week, next week." We offered to find other contractors and other alternatives ... but it got to the point where we couldn't stay closed any more. The holiday season was approaching and we had all this merchandise just sitting there collecting dust and we had to reopen. We started looking for alternate spaces.

Tell us about the move to Churchill's.

We had been looking at a space near Churchill's and that didn't work out. We needed a space that was ready right now and they had it. They cut us a sweet deal, and we love them for it. This is kind of like a beautiful, harmonious move.

Do you have a hurricane plan for next year?

Considering that we aren't going back to the old location, there won't be some of the problems associated with that building. Churchill's is a concrete warehouse and, for now, is hurricane-proof.