Jamaica Plain’s loss is Northampton’s gain, as treasured record shop Deep Thoughts plans a move to Western Massachusetts. Since 2013, the store has been a cultural hotspot on JP’s South Street, offering guests a bounty of hyper-specific genres to browse in an environment unlike any other. Upstairs, flyers and pieces of memorabilia practically serve as wallpaper, with a web of various decorations dangling overhead; downstairs, a wealth of books and music merch awaits.
But come the end of this month, Deep Thoughts will pack up for the Pioneer Valley, joining a hub of record shops that includes TURN IT UP!, Electric Eye Records, and a Newbury Comics location. According to a statement on Facebook from owners Nick Williams and Alaina Stamatis, the shop’s last day doing business in Jamaica Plain will be next Sunday, September 29. The post explains that location and commuting played a major role in their decision to move west.
“We very much treasured being in Jamaica Plain for 11 1/2 wonderful years, but the ability to host our business within a healthy commute of our home is an opportunity too good to pass up,” the owners’ note on Facebook reads. “Our amazing JP crew is the only reason we were able to live so far from DT for so long, but the time has come for us to be more hands-on again, and we truly cannot wait!”
An opening date has not been announced for the downtown Northampton shop, although the owners’ statement describes the new spot at 5 Market Street as having “hardwood floors, large windows, [and] exposed brick.” The note signs off with a nod to the shop’s “house band” Owsley’s Owls, who previously performed at Deep Thoughts’ Grateful Dead nights, and now take the stage once a month at the Midway Cafe’s “Hippie Hour.”
Read the full statement below.