INDY CD & VINYL TO EXPAND INTO FORMER LANDSHARKS SPACE, ADD ALL-AGES COMMUNITY STAGE AND EVENT SPACE IN BROAD RIPPLE VILLAGE WITH SUPPORT FROM LOCAL NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
Expansion comes as a response to closing of neighborhood bar due to shooting
and loss of live music venue spaces in Broad Ripple Cultural District over time.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Local independent record store Indy CD & Vinyl is expanding their retail footprint in the near future, taking over the currently empty space at 808 Broad Ripple Avenue next door to their current location at 806. With this expansion will be a reimagining of the live music stage the shop had since its opening in 2002, which served as host to thousands of community events and live music performances, from artists as varied as Abigail Washburn to Mumford & Sons, from Death Cab For Cutie to Jurassic 5.
“Our mission statement has always been ‘to help make Indianapolis a better place to live,’ and expanding the shop to include a well-designed live stage gets us back to fulfilling that mission,” states shop co-owner Annie Skinner.
Husband and shop co-owner Andy Skinner explains, “Broad Ripple has been sorely lacking in all-ages community spaces since before we removed our stage during the pandemic, and one of our goals in expanding is to activate this as an educational and community entertainment space with help from local not-for profit groups.”
Indy CD & Vinyl’s plans for what will be called ‘The 808’ is to expand the current retail footprint into the former nightclub and include a seating area for patrons, reimagine the current arcade and create a “third space” for store regulars and neighborhood shoppers to relax and even use as a co-working hub, and then rebuild the stage they lost in the pandemic with greater scale and usefulness. This community stage will bring back the myriad in-store performances, meet-and-greets, artist signings, and tour stops; however, it will also be used for music education, local artist showcases, and non-profit fundraisers.
Indy CD & Vinyl is partnering with The Indiana Entertainment Foundation (IEF), which operates the Indiana Music History Museum on Broad Ripple Avenue to raise awareness of Indiana music history and to support each other’s’ missions. The IEF will help the store to raise funds to operate the stage while also using the space for its own outreach, education, and fundraising events. The record store has also made agreements with the local non-profit groups Girls Rock! Indianapolis and Musical Family Tree to host showcases of local music performances, arrange music education workshops, and serve as a meeting place for outreach as well as Board and committee meetings. More local not-for-profit groups and schools will be taking advantage of this community space beginning next year as well as the shop rekindling partnerships and relationships with the Indianapolis Film Fest, Deckademics, MOKB Presents, and the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation & Festival.
Additionally, ‘The 808’ will occasionally have ticketed private events where patrons may be able to see their favorite artists perform in an all-ages setting on Broad Ripple Avenue, booked by shop owners Annie & Andy Skinner through their promotion company A-Squared Industries, as well as outside promoters.
The idea for expanding came when the neighboring space was vacated after a deadly shooting occurred in early 2024, when an employee at Landsharks tragically lost his life. Reeling from the horrific event and the further bad news that yet another storefront was empty, the Skinners had to decide what to do - both for their business and for the betterment of the community.
“This store has been here for over 22 years, and we feel a responsibility for helping to keep this neighborhood and cultural district involved in the arts and music scenes,” states Annie. “It has been a long process to determine exactly what our decision involves, and what the right move is, but the most important thing for us to do is figure out what is going to be the best decision for the neighborhood.”
Andy continues, “expanding the shop is also a defensive move, in a sense. We don’t want just another bar going in, much less seeing an empty storefront either. Annie thinking of a stage and space to be activated by the community seems like the best fit for our mission, and something the Broad Ripple neighborhood sorely needs right at this moment.”
From a retail perspective, building a stage in the expanded space will simply be reclaiming a part of the shop’s identity as a place to see live music, interact with artists, and encourage local artists. Indy CD & Vinyl has a long history of using their former stage to its highest potential, and the expansion will allow the shop to return to that pre-pandemic space where patrons can see an event any day of the week.
The aim is to have the room finished and the expansion completed by the next Record Store Day in April 2025. In the meantime, support the shop by stopping in the establishment on Broad Ripple Avenue, or shopping online at indycdandvinyl.com.
Indy CD & Vinyl To Expand And Restore All-Ages Stage.
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