You’d be surprised what an extra 165 square feet can add to a shop like vinyl index. Roughly 1,000 additional records, a cocktail bar, funky new subgenres — it’s all there, packed into the refurbished record store, which expanded its footprint at Somerville’s Bow Market earlier this spring.
If Bow Market was designed to be a destination, then vinyl index. is a distinct watering hole within a destination, where you can shop, sip, spin, and socialize until 11 p.m. The expansion arrived with the shop’s relaunch of Plastic Dreams, its monthly series of “all vinyl all night” DJ events.
“When we started vinyl index. we knew there would be a sum of parts that made the shop viable without strictly relying on in-store record sales, and [I] think these additional parts also make us stand apart from the rest,” explains owner Jeremy Sullivan. “Hosting DJ events in-house with drinks in hand fit right in and felt like a natural progression. We’ll always be a record store foremost but do also see ourselves as an event space and bar. The ‘vibe’ (I know) is low-key as the music brings the excitement and takes center stage which to us feels like a nice departure from what can be a frenzied bar scene.”
Sullivan first started speaking with Bow Market in early 2019 about an expansion, but the finished product didn’t debut until mid-March of this year. The new layout features a 10-foot bar and bench seating for thirsty shoppers, as well as bulked-up rock, indie, blues, and jazz sections. Some subgeneres flourished under the bigger blueprint as well: vinyl index. now features Asian, Latin, and African music spotlights, as well as dedicated sections for ’80s new wave, modern groove & wave, and indietronica wave. The music selection matches the drink menu, which ranges from highballs like a “June & Johnny” (bourbon and ginger) to mixed drinks like the “garage party” (a mix of rum, Campari, Tang, lime, and pineapple juice).
“The original bar concept was inspired by Jazz Kissas, a type of cafe that originated in 1950s post-war Japan, where people could hear the latest imported records they otherwise wouldn’t have had access to,” Sullivan explains. “Just like a public library (where the name Vinyl Index stems from), we have always thought of vinyl index. as a communal space to learn and share and the Kissa concept overlapped nicely.”
If and when customers want a drink, they can scan the menu’s QR code, which sends the order to next-door eatery Variety Bar. The staff at Variety Bar then prepare and deliver the drink order — a process that they’re accustomed to, after two years of socially-distant food service throughout Bow Market.
“By partnering with our neighbor Variety Bar to create our own drink menu — that they would service — we would be able to keep focus on the music while creating an inviting space with longer hours,” Sullivan notes. “We’ve added a 10-foot long bar and bench seating inside plus are about to install a floor-to-ceiling storefront window that will completely open up the outside barrier so guests can spill out onto the balcony and post up at the railing with their drinks while the DJs spin. Even guests sitting in the outdoor Bow Market courtyard are able to enjoy the sounds as we pump the live DJ sets over the outdoor sound system.”
With so many records plates spinning at once, Sullivan summarizes vinyl index.’s services with a new slogan: Dig, Drink, Listen. But if the shop’s stacked calendar of late-night DJ events, album release parties, and community hangs is an indication of anything, it’s that there’s nothing simple about an extra few square feet in Union Square.
Check out the store’s drink menu and new setup below.
