Rough Trade New York moving to ?

New York: We're Moving!


Brooklyn record store and concert venue, Rough Trade NYC, will close its current Williamsburg location this Spring, as the store plans to relocate to another, yet-to-be announced NYC location in the Summer. During the intervening months, Rough Trade’s leading online record store, www.roughtrade.com, will continue to serve vinyl loving patrons with its emphasis on pre-orders, weekly new releases, exclusive editions and sale back catalogue.

 

What? I loved this location, spacious and really cool!

 

Reading between the lines it looks like they might go physically smaller and beef up mail order? That would be sad.

Ive been to the store twice

 

Hard to imagine the new location will be better. The last time I was there it was a beautiful autumn night and I couldn’t be happier walking with a bag full of records towards the nearby park to watch the night fall over Manhattan’s skyline.

 

It doesn’t look like a concert venue will be part of the new location.

Unfortunate.......I liked the room and concerts were the reason I went there......including one of their first two Television shows.

 

Before looking I assumed this thread was started by Yoda.

 

I guess this means that Williamsburg is officially dead.

Very strange though. I always thought it to be an excellent space, and I personally thought the location to be fine. Maybe though it is too far from the subway.

 

I have several friends who work there, let's see if they have any info...

 

That was a fantastic place indeed to take a short break before starting the walk to Academy and Grouch.

 

So today I dared venture out into the wild because I had to pick up a guitar pedal at Main Drag down on S. 1st and as I was heading back towards Greenpoint I figured I'd pop in to Rough Trade. They were closed - pandemic hours, only open from Weds. to Sun. - so I just shrugged and went to Grouch instead (after a pit stop at Academy - also closed on Tuesdays, btw). Got home and saw the news and I couldn't believe it. I mean, I can, but it still sucks. They have a surprisngly thorough selection of music, books, and magazines, cool employees, and I loved seeing shows there - it was like a tiny clubhouse instead of a proper NYC rock club. Seeing Liam Gallagher and a Superchunk record release gig there were a couple of reminders of why I love living in NYC that still resonate. So while there are other, better options out there purely for vinyl, Rough Trade was special - it was kind of a musical amusement park. Regardless of where and how they end up, that cavernous N. 9th mecca will be missed.

 

I applied for a buyer job there since two friends were managers. We met inside the building while it was still under construction. They were trying to explain how it was going to be set up...I have a couple pictures somewhere.

 

Just announced the new location... Rockefeller Center.

ROUGH TRADE NYC, Manhattan, June 1st

Y'know, that world-renowned hotbed of hipster vinyl aficionados...

 

This is great news for me, as that Brooklyn location is just too hard for me to get to. I’m really looking forward to the live events!

 

Nice! We need more record stores in Manhattan.
I live In that “hotbed” - few blocks away and NO - we are not Brooklyn hipsters.
count me down as a local vinyl aficionado

 

Rockefeller Center???? Now that is bizarre.

I guess that they just want to sell records mostly to tourists. But I hope they took into consideration the fact that all of the previous record stores in Midtown Manhattan went out of business over the past 2 or 3 decades.

 

Plus the pandemic has caused an incredible loss of the need for offices. Opening a record store amidst tons of empty office spaces does not bode well. And it might be years --- if at all --- before that office space gets re-occupied.

 

I wonder if they owned the Brooklyn location and sold it to a real estate developer to build condos...

 

Maybe they are building their own condos: ROUGH TRADE CONDOS --- with built-in turntables in every unit.

 

NY Times article says that the Brooklyn location is currently available to rent for $50,000/month, but they don’t say who owns the property.

Rough Trade Record Store Has an Unlikely New Home: 30 Rock

 

Manhattan has needed a good record store ever since Tower and Virgin closed.

 

It definitely does. But Rockefeller Center is still a bizarre spot.
The link in post #12 does mention a partnership with the Rainbow Room. So I presume that is where the $$$ will be coming from.

 

I've lived in NYC for eighteen years and I've probably been to Rockefeller Center four or five time. I have no reason to be in that neighborhood and Rough Trade's questionable relocation won't change that. It's too bad because Rough Trade carried a lot of titles that most local stores don't, they had great in-store events and the music venue was perfect.

 

They did not own the space.

 

Plus Other Music and J&R.

 

Manhattan has a good record store---Academy on 12th Street.

And Kim's.