Devastating Flood Forces Del Ray Record Store To Move

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Crooked Beat Records in Del Ray has announced that it will close its doors in the neighborhood and look for a new location.

The store suffered a flood in January that destroyed valuable inventory, as well as equipment and fixtures, and has been open only for limited hours since then. Despite launching a limited edition merchandise line to raise money and starting a GoFundMe fundraiser that raised to date nearly $23,000, Crooked Beat hasn’t been able to recover.

The store says its last day at 2417 Mount Vernon Ave. in Del Ray will be Sunday, May 3.

In a sign posted on the store’s Instagram account, the owners say despite their best efforts to stay in Del Ray and Old Town, they “were priced out/outbid at every space we looked at.”

They also said “we have loved this location! After the devastating flood here in January, we can surely say water + records did not go well together.”

However, social media posts by the store say they do plan to reopen, they just haven’t found a site yet.

Crooked Beat assistant manager Kourtney Pompi described the flood in an interview with the DC101 radio station in January.

Crooked Beat bills itself as “Alexandria’s only independent record store” and claims the largest selection of new and used vinyl in the DC area. It specializes in independent labels and rare new and used releases.

The store has moved a few times over the years. ALXNow reported on the store’s move to Del Ray from Old Town in 2023.

Owner Bill Daly founded the shop in 1997 in Raleigh, North Carolina. He moved to Washington, DC’s Adams Morgan neighborhood in 2004 and then to Old Town in 2016. The piece notes that Daly had signed a five-year lease for the Del Ray space.

In 2014, Daly also launched a record label to produce music by artists in the DC area.