AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin audiophiles, you have about a month left to visit Waterloo Records’ store at Sixth Street and Lamar Boulevard before the iconic shop closes those doors and opens new ones at a bigger, renovated space just a few blocks up the road.
The Waterloo Records Instagram account announced in a post on Thursday that the last day of business at the record store’s current location, 600 N. Lamar, will be Sunday, August 24.
Not even a week later, the new location, 1105 N. Lamar, will open on Saturday, August 30.
The move has been in the works all year, and it’s been coming for a while. The property at Sixth and Lamar was sold back in 2019 to Endeavor Real Estate Group, so Waterloo had been facing an imminent closure or relocation.
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Waterloo Records moving to new location -
Waterloo Records on North Lamar Boulevard in Austin, Texas. (KXAN Photo/Todd Bailey) -
Ray Wylie Hubbard and band play at Waterloo Records’ 40th anniversary celebration on April 1, 2022. (KXAN Photo/Tim Holcomb) -
Gold Rush Vinyl uses its “gold machine” to plate records with 24-karat gold and other metals, such as aluminum and rose gold. (KXAN Photo/Abigail Jones) -
Gold Rush Vinyl uses its “gold machine” to plate records with 24-karat gold and other metals, such as aluminum and rose gold. (KXAN Photo/Abigail Jones)
Location isn’t the only change for the business, either. When Waterloo announced a new location back in January, it also announced it was being taken over by new owners: Caren Kelleher, CEO of Gold Rush Vinyl, and Trey Watson, CEO of Armadillo Records.
Kelleher shared the news on Instagram Jan. 2, saying in the post, “I can’t think of a better way to start the year than to share that I’m now a co-owner of @waterloorecords!”
“This new chapter also includes a long-awaited move,” Kelleher said in the post, explaining the 2019 purchase and announcing the new location. She said the new store will offer “even more room for music discovery, performances, and album signings.”
Previous owner John T. Kunz told KXAN in January that bringing on new partners would mean the iconic spot would live on, but it had to be the perfect fit.
“The needle that always needed to be threaded with our business was to stay true to our roots, our beliefs, our principals,” said Kunz. “Always follow the music, but continue to change and morph and innovate.”
Kunz said the other important part of the deal was his employees, many of whom have been working at the shop for decades. Kelleher confirmed the staff would stay.
The vinyl shop has operated in Austin for more than 40 years, 36 of those at its current location. The new owners originally anticipated a springtime opening for the new location, but late August is now officially on the books.
The new location will continue Waterloo’s world-class selection of vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, DVDs, and more, while adding features to curate a “record store experience like no other,” according to its Instagram post.
According to the post, the new spot will add:
- In-house lacquer cutting – the first step in making a vinyl record, which people will be able to watch happen from the store’s floor.
- An audio mixing studio designed by Grammy-winning engineer Chad Franscoviak, which can be rented by mixing engineers.
- 24-karat gold and platinum vinyl records made by Gold Rush Vinyl.
- A podcast studio, which can also be rented when Waterloo is not capturing its own content.
- A beer, wine and coffee bar with café-style seating.
- An in-store stage built with a piece of flooring from the original Austin City Limits Studio 6A stage, donated by KLRU.
- Live performances and tapings.