Liverpool, UK | Vinyl record retailer to open first Liverpool store: UK independent music retailer Rough Trade to open 6,500 sq ft store in Liverpool and is seeking applications for people to join its team. Independent vinyl record retailer Rough Trade is to open its first store in Liverpool. Founded in London in 1976, Rough Trade is a £14m-turnover business that currently has five outlets, including one in New York. It will open its sixth, a 6,500 sq ft store in Hanover Street in Liverpool city centre in the first quarter of 2024. It will create a number of jobs and is seeking applications from people in Liverpool city region. Roles include general manager, assistant manager, bar and events manager, bar and events supervisor, retail supervisors and bar, sales and events assistants. This will become Rough Trade’s largest location in the UK and boast its largest venue space. It will feature a fully stocked bar and cafe in partnership with Signature Brew and Dark Arts. Upon opening, people will be able to browse the extensive catalogue of music and merchandise in-store.
Liverpool, UK | Iconic Jacaranda to open record store and performance space in the Baltic Triangle: There was huge news announced today from one of Liverpool’s most iconic venues, Jacaranda is to open a new record store and 400 capacity performance space in the Baltic Triangle at Cains Brewery Village. 65 years after opening on Slater Street, Liverpool’s iconic Jacaranda is opening another premises in the Baltic Triangle—Jacaranda Baltic. The new Jacaranda Baltic site is made up of a record shop and a 400 capacity performance area, located inside Cain’s Brewery. The record store, the latest iteration of the Jacaranda brand, will stock a curated mix of local and international artist’s new releases, along with all the classic albums you expect to find. The performance area, Jacaranda’s largest and most ambitious to date, already has a range of huge artists set to play there. Tom Odell, Dizzee Rascal, Shed Seven, Cast and Red Rum Club are all set to perform live on-stage and launch their new albums from the new Baltic venue over the next few months.
Sacramento, CA | Coffee shop and record store in midtown Sacramento is closing. Here’s why—and when. A midtown Sacramento cafe known for its coffee drinks and vinyl record collection will close early next year. Pressed Coffee and Records is closing its doors at 1725 L St. due to rent increases, the business owners said in a Dec. 22 Instagram post. “Since early October (and after the second significant annual increase in rent in September), we have been in negotiations with our landlord to decrease our rent based on the fact that office workers have not returned to midtown (and) downtown,”the post read. The cafe received a 30-day notice on Dec. 20 and officially shutter on Jan. 13. “I am certain that this isn’t the end and you will see some more news on that soon,” the cafe’s owners said in the post. …The cafe, which doubles as a record shop, offers a menu of espresso coffee drinks and small bites such as veggie burritos and falafal wraps.
Fort Wayne, IN | Iconic family-owned record store passes the pricing gun from father to son: It takes a lot to become a local legend in the record store world, but the Roets family had managed to do just that. As the final days of 2023 turned into a new year, Bob Roets, founder and owner, with his wife, Cindy, of Fort Wayne’s iconic Wooden Nickel Records announced his retirement and passed the baton, along with the pricing gun, to his son Chris. For a look back at the local record store scene as well as insight on Bob’s deep passion and commitment to the community, here’s the conversation WBOI’s Julia Meek had with him on the company’s 40th Anniversary in 2022. “…You know, when I opened the store, I had very modest thoughts of where we were going to go. And we started with $1,000, my record collection and my stereo system. That’s what started Wooden Nickel, to be honest with you. And to think where it is today, it was inconceivable that that would happen. But I’m a pretty stubborn guy, you know, I mean, I worked seven days a week, I still do. I love what I do…”