Following significant flooding after a water leak this past weekend, a vinyl record store in Del Ray has closed for the foreseeable future and is considering a move.
Crooked Beat Records owner Bill Daly told ALXnow today (Monday) that a pipe on the roof of the building burst, flooding the basement record shop at 2417 Mount Vernon Avenue with several inches of water and ruining merchandise.
“It hit a lot of our rare records,” Daly said. “There might be $25,000 to $30,000 worth of damage in here.”
Amid the “catastrophic flooding,” Daly says he’s in a difficult position and loves the location, but might be forced to move. Fixtures in the basement space are wood, and he is worried about mold setting in.
“I’m kind of nervous about bringing in stock here, because nothing’s getting repaired and addressed,” Daly said. “We want to stay in the neighborhood. We love this location, but we can’t get hit like this again.”
“If there’s an opportunity to relocate to another space, we’re interested,” he added.
The business owner said he’s had a hard time resolving the issue with landlord Bonaventure. The store is welcoming “any assistance you all are able to provide,” Daly posted on social media yesterday, asking for legal help and stating that plumbers and the city did not shut down the water.
Daly said he has shut off the shop’s power, as the water is nearing electrical currents.
Crooked Beat Records moved into the 1,200-square-foot basement in 2023, after operating in Old Town for seven years. The shop first opened in 1997 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
ALXnow has reached out to Bonaventure and the city of Alexandria for comment.
Photo via Crooked Beat Records/Facebook.
