The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Moods Music owner to open used vinyl shop in South Downtown
Crates is looking at an August or September opening date.
Darryl Harris, owner of Moods Music in Little Five Points, looks forward to Record Store Day every year.
“It’s a day of celebration of what I love to do, sell records,” he said. “There aren’t that many independent record stores left and to be one of them is special.”
Moods Music, open for 24 years, is an Atlanta staple. Located on Euclid Avenue in the heart of the hip neighborhood known for its indie stores, Harris’ business stands out by specializing in vinyl and CDs from neo soul, Afro-Cuban and acid jazz artists — music people can’t buy anywhere else.
Harris, a former D J, also carefully curates the R&B, dance, funk and reggae selections.
“I am more of a specialty store, a little bit more eclectic, than most record stores,” he said. “I just felt Little Five was a perfect fit.”
Harris, 63, is now venturing beyond Little Five Points. He plans to open Crates record store on Hotel Row at 215 Mitchell St. in South Downtown. He signed a lease earlier this month and is looking at an August or September opening date.
Harris said he was intrigued by what he saw Newport RE was doing in South Downtown and on Hotel Row while driving around the area. The neighborhood vibe he saw happening would be the perfect match for his next record store.
“I would always just peek my head in the different storefronts, and the light bulb just went off,” he said. “I’m excited about what it’s going to become.”
One year ago, he met April Stammel. At the time, Stammel was with Newport RE, a German real estate company with a plan to revitalize 10 blocks of South Downtown.
In July, just a few months after they met, Newport announced it was selling its entire South Downtown portfolio to Atlanta-based Braden Fellman Group. The deal fell through and many of Newport’s properties went into foreclosure.
In December, entrepreneurs Jon Birdsong and David Cummings, the founders of Atlanta Tech Village in Buckhead, announced they were buying Newport’s entire South Downtown portfolio of 53 buildings and more than six acres of parking lots.
Their venture is known as South Downtown Atlanta where they envision creating a district for entrepreneurs and startups.
“Darrell has been really patient,” said Stammel, now head of Marketing & Community Engagement for South Downtown Atlanta. “He definitely stuck through the transition and kept tabs on the progress. When the new buyers came in, we championed Crates and what Darryl was bringing to the neighborhood, and they embraced it full force.”
Newport did complete the renovation of Hotel Row on Mitchell Street before its vision collapsed. Thai restaurant TydeTate Kitchen opened last year, the first tenant of Hotel Row. This month, Spiller Park Coffee opened.
Moods Music sells mostly new vinyl as well as CDs, turntables, books and art. Crates will be a place for used vinyl only, where people can search through, yes, crates of albums and sell some of their own records.