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ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The record store that Neighborhood Restaurant Group announced for Del Ray this summer now has a name: Mobius Records, an independent shop that owner Dempsey Hamilton has operated out of Fairfax City's Main Street since 2014.
Hamilton announced Aug. 9 on Instagram that Mobius will open a second location at 2016 Mt. Vernon Ave. in mid-September, partnering with NRG founder Michael Babin, Evening Star Café chef Nathan Anda and NRG beverage director Greg Engert. The collaboration builds on more than a decade of joint projects, including an annual Record Store Day beer and pop-up appearances at NRG's Snallygaster festival.
"After months of planning and preparation, we're beyond excited to finally announce that Mobius Records is expanding to a second location in Del Ray," Hamilton wrote.
The Alexandria shop will carry the same curated mix of vinyl, CDs and cassettes — new releases, reissues and used records across all genres — that has defined the Fairfax flagship. Plans include DJ nights and live performances at Evening Star, Record Store Day events in the Hi/Fi Tex-Mex courtyard and an expanded menu at neighboring Shorty's Deluxe.
The opening comes as Del Ray prepares to welcome a second record store to the avenue. Crooked Beat Records, which closed its basement location at 2417 Mt. Vernon Ave. in May after flooding damaged its inventory, announced in June that it will reopen at 2101B Mt. Vernon Ave. Owner Bill Daly said at the time that a longtime customer of nearly three decades had purchased the building so Crooked Beat could keep going. The shop is listing the new location as coming soon.
The two stores will sit roughly 128 feet apart on opposite sides of Mount Vernon Avenue.
