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It’s lunchtime on a typical weekday and Reckless Records downtown is packed. Dave Richardson, a 26-year-old legal clerk, has stopped in on his break to shop for LPs, those 12-inch, non-biodegradable vinyl discs that have been made obsolete many times over, most recently by MP3s.

Why would anybody pay for vinyl when there’s so much free digital music on the Internet? Why opt for a format that hardly fits in a backpack when the iPod can put up to 20,000 songs in a back pocket?

“I like the idea of owning a piece of physical media,” Richardson said.

He isn’t alone. Despite the MP3 takeover of the music industry, more and more audiophiles are turning to vinyl for an old-fashioned listening experience. And after 19 years in business in Chicago, British-owned Reckless Records of London Inc. is reaping the benefits.

The company’s three locations—-Lakeview, Wicker Park and the Loop—-sold 136,000 LPs in 2008, up about 38,000 from the year before. Despite declining CD revenue, Reckless’s total sales climbed to $4.2 million last year from $3.8 million in 2007. The uptick will allow the company to move its Lakeview store to a bigger location at the end of May.

To Reckless general manager Bryan Smith, vinyl’s resurgence comes down to consumer desire for a hands-on listening experience.

“People are rediscovering the artifact of music, being able to hold the physical product,” Smith said. “They like the mobility of the MP3, [but] it doesn’t give you a physical relationship with bands.”

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With Chicago hotels operating at less than half capacity, air travel down and business conventions being canceled, state and city travel officials held a rally Tuesday at Navy Pier for the embattled tourism industry.

A crowd of about 150 gathered on the Lakeview Rooftop Terrace to hear officials sing the praises of tourism industry employees and announce initiatives designed to jumpstart travel.

“We want to leverage Chicago’s reputation as a city that means business” to combat the “erosion” of convention attendance, Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Roby said. The bureau is launching an Internet advertising campaign on May 18 geared toward luring business travelers to the city and encouraging local businesses to “keep their business here,” he said.

The city’s convention and tourism bureau, along with the Chicago Office of Tourism and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, hosted the rally in conjunction with the 26th annual National Travel and Tourism Week. More than 35 cities across the country also held rallies.

Director of the Illinois Bureau of Tourism Jan Kostner emphasized “budget-friendly” travel options and cited increased inquiries on the bureau’s Web site during the last year as evidence that “people still want to travel.”

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” he said. “I think we’re going to start moving in the right direction. I don’t think it’s going to go from zero to 100.”

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Most Mother’s Days, Sue Kaczor goes out to dinner with her family to celebrate. But the slumping economy, which has cost one of her sons-in-law his job, means she is staying home this Sunday.

“We’re making dinner instead of going out to eat and making home-made margaritas,” said Kaczor, who was recently shopping for her two daughters and sister at a Hallmark Cards store in the Loop.

With the economy in recession, Kaczor said she does not expect extravagant gifts this year.

“We’re all in the same boat,” she said. “It’s about the fun, not just the gifts.

The situation in Kaczor’s household will be mirrored around the country, according to a recent National Retail Federation survey of 8,667 consumers. The survey found that Americans will spend an average of $123.89 per person on Mother’s Day gifts, compared with last year’s average of $138.63.

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McDonald’s Corp. began a national advertising campaign for its McCafé coffee bar Tuesday in an attempt to encroach on coffee giant Starbucks Corp.’s turf.

Since introducing its premium roast drip coffee in late 2006, the Oakbrook-based fast food chain has been phasing in a line of espresso-based specialty beverages, including lattes, cappuccinos and mochas, in select stores nationwide. The McCafé is now in more than 11,000 of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. stores, including more than 660 in the Chicago region that reaches from Milwaukee to Northwest Indiana.Read more