Around Town

Crooked Beat Records reopening in new Del Ray home this weekend

Crooked Beat Records is reopening in a new location in Del Ray this weekend.

Owner Bill Daly announced on social media that the store will be open at 2101B Mount Vernon Avenue on Friday, Sept. 25, from 4-7 p.m., Saturday from 2 to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 1-6 p.m.

“It’s like the Twilight Zone, same colors, same atmosphere,” Daly said in a video on Wednesday. “We’re excited about everything, and it’s going to be a work in progress. And we should be open for full time in about a week or so.”

The new space, a two-story townhouse with 950 square feet, has been vacant for more than a decade, according to neighbors.

In May, Daly was forced to close his previous basement location up the street at 2417 Mount Vernon Avenue after significant flooding in January. The business closed briefly after losing an estimated $60,000 of merchandise, of which $23,500 was recovered through a GoFundMe campaign. The former location operated for several more months after reopening at the end of February.

Crooked Beat opened in Del Ray in 2023 after seven years in Old Town North. The store first opened in 1997 in Raleigh, N.C.

Daly will have some competition in the new space. Crooked Beat is opening just a few weeks after another record shop, Mobius Records, opened across the street at 2016 Mount Vernon Avenue.

Michael Babin, principal at NRG, previously told ALXnow that Daly was supportive of Mobius Records opening to make Del Ray more of a destination for record store shoppers.

Image 2 via Crooked Beat Records/Facebook

About the Author

  • Reporter James Cullum has spent nearly 20 years covering Northern Virginia. He began working with ALXnow in 2020, and has covered every story under the sun for the publication, from investigative stories to features and photo galleries. His work includes coverage of national and international situations, as well as from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, Supreme Court and State Department. He's covered protests and riots throughout the U.S. (including the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol), in addition to earthquake-ridden Haiti, Western Sahara in North Africa and war-torn South Sudan. He has photographed presidents and other world leaders, celebrities and famous musicians, and excels under pressure.