Real Groovy Records finds Salvation
From Friday January 7th, 2016, Auckland's iconic record emporium,Real Groovy will open its new doors at 369 Queens Street previously the Salvation Army auditorium. Right across the road from their current locale, glass bricks and parquet floors will encase the tens of thousands of LPs, CDs, audio equipment, books and an eclectic array of pop culture paraphernalia.
Whilst there is nostalgic eye dew for the old setting, Real Groovy owner, Chris Hart, is looking forward to the move, "We had a good run in the old shop, 25 years, and that time saw a huge amount of change. But we're really excited about moving: the new shop is something special. I couldn't imagine a better location or space for Real Groovy".
With a reputation equaling that of the world's greatest record stores; Amoeba (Los Angeles), Rough Trade East (London), Tower records (Tokyo, Japan) (Indiana, U.S.) and Waterloo Records (Austin Texas, U.S.), Real Groovy has been a colourful beacon of the Auckland central retail landscape since 1981. The artists that have played in-stores or signings at Real Groovy reads like a rock n roll who's who's almanac including Queens of the Stone Age, Sepultura and Townes Van Zandt amongst many other international and local acts.
This isn't the first location change in its history, as 1991 saw the move from their first Real Groovy store on Mt Eden Rd (just up from where the Powerstation now sits), to 492 Queen St, then to 438 Queen Street. 2016 is time to move to its most blessed location to date, at 369 Queen Street.
"The new shop is over two levels of retail", says Hart, "the auditorium on the ground floor is a massive space: it's the same kind of scale as the old store, but way groovier, absolutely perfect for us. And there's a huge basement where we'll be putting our vinyl department, giving it the room to grow that it needs".
The old store 438 Queen Street will remain open until Sunday January 17th hosting a massive sale, and customers are encouraged to make that final nostalgic visit to the old Real Groovy before the wrecking balls hit. Then cross the road and check out the awesomeness of 369!!
Real Groovy Records
369 Queen Street
(ex- Salvation Army auditorium)
Auckland City
Opening Friday Jan 7th, 2016
www.realgroovy.co.nz