Wax on: Stranded Records debuts on 5th Street

[Image via @StrandedRecords]

Stranded Records opened back on Saturday here at 218 E. Fifth St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

This marks the third outpost for the new-and-used vinyl retailer, which started in Oakland in 2012 and expanded to San Francisco several years later.

The shop shares ownership with archival label Superior Viaduct.

Here's more about them via an article at KQED:

Superior Viaduct started in 2011 with a focus on San Francisco punk, but it’s since branched into jazz, reggae, experimental and 20th century classical music plus contemporary titles through sub-label W.25th.

Label artists include Glenn Branca, Alice Coltrane, John Coltrane, DNA, the Fall, the Gun Club, Charles Mingus, the Residents and Suicide, to name a few. (Expect to find all these reissues in the shop.)

As previously reported, Stranded Records takes over the space from Good Records, which bowed out on March 24 after 14 years in the East Village.

Here's more via KQED:

Stranded co-owner Steve Viaduct said they're acquiring Good's record selection and retaining several of its longtime employees.

Viaduct said Stranded’s expansion is partly about increasing the associated label's presence in New York, and partly to accommodate with its swelling used catalog. "The Bay Area stores have been doing so well," he said. "We have two modestly sized shops, but the need for a third became apparent when we couldn’t sell inventory fast enough."

Viaduct said the Good Records deal includes several thousand records, to which Stranded will add several thousand more before reopening, but the shop will look similar: "It's got hardwood floors, tin ceiling — when we were imagining a store to open in New York, this was our mental example."

Stranded Records is open daily from noon to 8 p.m.

Last day for Good Records NYC on 5th Street

Good Records NYC bows out today after 14 years in the East Village.

However, as previously reported, the storefront here on Fifth Street between Second Avenue and Cooper Square will remain a like-minded shop specializing in used and vintage vinyl.

On April 1, Stranded Records, a San Francisco-based store that runs the Superior Viaduct label, is expected to take over the space at 218 E. Fifth St.

In an Instagram post on March 9, Good Records owner Jonny Sklute noted that "lots of things will remain the same," including most of the staff — and inventory.

Gothamist had more earlier this month:

It's not as though business wasn't good — Sklute told Gothamist that the store had their best sales year ever in 2017. "It was just time," he told us over the phone. Originally from the west coast, he moved back there with his family two years ago after over two decades in NYC. He said he was "burnt" from 14 years of keeping the shop open, also noting high rents in the area. "Eventually it just became way too costly and way too difficult to try and run a small little shop," he said.

Sklute said that the folks at Stranded Records were looking to expand to NYC, so this scenario worked out for everyone involved.

The posted hours today are from noon to 7 p.m.

Previously on Ev Grieve:
Good Records NYC is closing, though the shop will continue to sell vinyl as Stranded Records

Good Records NYC is closing, though the shop will continue to sell vinyl as Stranded Records

[Image by Arlene F. via Yelp]

Used and vintage-vinyl dealer Good Records NYC is closing on March 24 after 14 years in business.

However, on April 1, Stranded Records, a like-minded San Francisco-based shop that runs the Superior Viaduct label, will take over the space at 218 E. Fifth St. between Second Avenue and Cooper Square.

Good Records owner Jonny Sklute explains in an Instagram post from Saturday:

Lots of things will remain the same. most of the staff is staying. most of the inventory is too. Stranded will honor Good Records gift certificates and trade credit for a period of 3 months — through the end of June. most importantly, there will still be vinyl records to dig and purchase and add to your collections, in the same bins, at the same location.

On a personal note: we had a great run in the greatest city, and it could not have been done without YOU. big up to all our customers, from the daily and weekly regulars to casual stoppers-by; all current and former staff, friends, allies, plugs, and simply great collectors from across the globe; thank you for making us your favorite, year after year, from 3rd Street to 5th Street, from the well-worn classics to the new discoveries to the wtf-unclassifiable; thank you for the laughs, the knowledge, the stories, the good vibes, and of course, your hard-earned purchases.

thank you for making our little shop a special and unique place in a world of rapidly increasing homogeneity. thank you for knowing and proving that vinyl is valid and dope and real and worth millions of dollars, long before big corporations agreed with us or saw reason to exploit those facts.

I am moving on, but the platter keeps spinning. I look forward to releasing more music on my new imprint — @thekeysystem — and working with Superior Viaduct on this transition and other creative endeavors.

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A post shared by Good Records NYC (@goodrecordsnyc) on Mar 9, 2019 at 8:52pm PST