Come April, there’ll be one less Virgin in Manhattan.
The Virgin Megastore in Times Square – the nation’s highest-volume music store – is shutting down in three months, it was learned yesterday.
The multi-tiered music retail store and tourist trap – which has hosted stars such as Miley Cyrus, Hilary Duff and Fall Out Boy – is across the street from the MTV studios, from which the popular “Total Request Live” was once broadcast.
“Management has been telling us that we were going to close for years,” groused one worker. “We’ve all been on edge.”
The employee, who wouldn’t give her name, claimed “We’re all being fired,” noting no specifics have been released.
Management at the store refused to comment on the future of the 250 workers.
Customer Geoff Stein, 28, of the East Village, said he hasn’t seen the need to do much shopping there since he bought an iPod. “I haven’t purchased one CD,” Stein said. “I come in, get a few ideas for new music and then get everything digitally.”
The store has been at the center of speculation since the Virgin Entertainment Group North America was acquired by two real-estate companies in 2007.
“It’s a shame that it’s closing,” said Tiffany Brown, 35, of New Jersey. “I’m one of the guilty ones. I come in here to browse around and kill time.”