For a decade, the little strip of 10th Ave between Pike and Pine in Capitol Hill was a prime spot to pick up books, records, and DVDs—the type of media you put on a shelf. In 2010, the Elliott Bay Book Company and Everyday Music moved onto that block, choosing the risky path of selling physical media (books at Elliott Bay; records and DVDs at Everyday) while digital media was taking over the world. A decade and a pandemic later, Elliott Bay is still there (and seems to be doing well), but Everyday kicked the bucket.
Miraculously, a little reanimation is happening this weekend over in Lower Queen Anne. A small corner spot at W Roy St and Queen Anne Ave N is about to be home to Royal Records, a record store started by two longtime Everyday Music employees, Hans Fluegel and Tyler Mitchell. (Until recently, Hans and Tyler were calling it Almost Everyday Records.) The store opens Saturday to the public, and it hopes to bring an end to Queen Anne's record store desert. Easy Street, Tower, Silver Platters, and Underdawg formerly served the neighborhood, which has had to become okay with having only Light in the Attic's "tiny (but excellent) shop" in KEXP's Gathering Space, as music writer Dave Segal outlined on Slog in August.
Saturday's opening is something to celebrate, not because of kitschy or sentimental feelings, but because physical media and physical retail spaces still have a purpose. Just look at Glossier, the "digitally native" beauty brand that has opened up what they call an "offline experience" (AKA a store) next door to Everyday Music's grave on 10th. Even digital giants can't resist getting physical.
Royal Records opens Saturday, October 9, at 10 AM until 7 PM. They will be open almost everyday.
