Standing among crates of vinyl records and soon-to-be-filled shelves, Jacee Badeaux, manager of the Boulevard Record Shop, prepares for the store’s grand opening Friday.
The store located on Belmont Boulevard is a student-run operation like the trendy clothing store ‘House Of’ located next door. However, what used to be the BLVD Music Shop will become the Boulevard Record Shop.
Formerly an instrument consignment and accessories store, Boulevard Record Shop will now be selling vinyl records.
Badeaux, who began managing the store last year, described the difficulties the store went through that inspired him to make the change.
“The problem that we had with the consignment store was we ended up getting to a place where things were too expensive for Belmont students to buy,” Badeaux said. “Knowing that most of our clientele are going to be students, we can’t have super expensive things in here because it’s just not going to get bought.”
However, the struggles the BLVD Music Shop faced are nothing new. From January 2010 to 2011, Buzzy’s Candy Store occupied the space; before Buzzy’s, a dorm accessory store called This & That, and before that, another music shop called ReverbMedia.
“I think what is difficult about this space is being innovative and knowing how to use it, because what’s really important with this space especially is knowing the community and knowing how to interact with the community around us,” said Badeaux.
And with the new store, Badeaux intends to do just that. Boulevard Record Shop won’t just sell records. It will also sell Switters Iced Coffee and feature in-store performances from Belmont artists every weekend.
“What makes this special is that it’s not just a record store, it’s a place you can come hang out, you can come grab an iced coffee, do homework — it’s kind of like a coffee shop in that sense,” said Badeaux.
Boulevard Record Shop will have its grand opening Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., which will feature Switters Iced Coffee, all-day performances from several Belmont artists and plenty of records to buy.
This article was written by Zach Gilchriest.