Vinyl Bars: The New Wave of Listening to Music and Drinking
By Alyssa Lomando
New York City remains the hub of artists, killer music, and innovative restaurants and bars. Vinyl bars were first founded in Japan during the 50’s- some call them, listening bars. A place where people can collectively come and enjoy listening to vintage or new 45’s and 33’s. Usually the bartender curates a playlist from the bar’s vinyl selection. Since vinyls have been on track outsell CD’s- the trend has taken over, as the new staple product in urban homes are turntables. With the greater part of a decade, vinyl bars have been growing in NYC, executing and creating their own spin of vinyl-record bars where people can come- chill, drink, and most importantly- listen to vinyl.
Tokyo Record Bar, 127 Macdougal St, New York, NY 10012
Greenwich village
A blue-haired young woman wears 2-inch platform boots, to the record bar down a short flight of stairs, next to another music venue called Blue Note on Macdougal St. Eyes adjust to the moodiness of dimly-lit small-spaced underground hideaway. Upon the corner of the bar counter, lies a vinyl player that serenades the room with Lou Reed’s Sweet Jane. Cherry blossoms dress-up the subterranean ceiling.
The Tokyo-record bar distinctly chooses not to mimic how Japan infamously crafts their record bars, but instead- provides its style of a New York City vinyl bar with a Tokyo twist.
The record bar opens at 6:30 p.m. It’s encouraged to call for reservations before arriving. When guests arrive, each requests a song they’d like to hear on vinyl and the bartender will curate a playlist for the night based on recommendations and their own choices. For $50 per person, a seven-course tasting menu will be served with included tastings of their sake- like Fuji Apple or Honeydew. Cheers!
THE VNYL, 100 Third Ave
East village
The thematic 1970’s ambient, rock-n-roll nightclub embodies the vibe that Groupie and artist, Pamela Anderson might’ve been cozied in the corner with Jimmy Page decades ago in the same velvet pink couch.
The bar is equipped with two black-bowtie professional mixologists. In a classic place like this, you should skip the beer and order their modern cocktail called, The VNYL is Liit, made up of Belvedere vodka, New Amsterdam gin, Bacardi black rum, Jagermeister, Lunazul, lime, and coke.
A crowd in their forties through sixties occupies the vintage space- men in business suits, women in black dresses. The venue consists of three floors filled with velvet couches, pink neon lights, which creates a dreamy forcefield. The DJ spun the record- I Feel Love by the late legendary Donna Summers with a remix of his own.
David, 36, a patron at the bar claimed, “it’s a time capsule here.”
Chicken Jazz: Turntable LP Bar & Karaoke, 34–36 W 32nd St 5th Floor
Midtown
The restaurant’s cozy 1950’s- Koreon vibe, instantly ensues a nostalgia of I Love Lucy and the sound of real-time blues. Recycled turntables that no longer work, function as wallpaper instead of paint, with a modern circular chandelier lighting the room faintly.
A-tisket, A-tasket by Ella Fitzgerald sings on the great surround sound speaker, fueled by a turntable. The decor ranges from BB king, Muddy Waters and more carefully collected posters of all the greats playing the blues with saxophones, an upright right bass, and mint Gibson guitars. Above the bar area, the glasses hang in an arranged fashion. Just upward of the glasses, dusty library shelves carry an impressive collection of vinyls.
You can order matcha, tea, or Koreon-styled pancakes while sitting at the bar or at one of their tables in the spacious two-roomed restaurant.
Jay, 28, head bartender has worked there over a year- he values the vintage feel of jazz. His amicable aura- slicked back hair with his dark black dress shirt shows seriousness but he cracks a full-fledged grin while he talks about one of his favorite musicians- Charlie Parker. He points out at a poster, “He’s not my favorite, favorite but one of them. It’s hard to choose one.”
Chicken Jazz has been open for a total of six years but their current location of 32nd St. has been open for approximately two years.
BierWax, 556 Vanderbilt Ave., Prospect Heights
Brooklyn
Vintage signs hang from the wall- ghostbusters, graffitied pedestrian signs and some classic 45’s. On the wall behind the bar is a library of 6 enormous bookshelves of vinyls- about 5,000, with the albums Ironman by Ghostfacs Killah, and Business as Usual by Men at Work on display.
Blake, 26, bartender, doubles his employment as a booking agent. He’s a musician himself. Blake paces on his stage and prepares for the busy crowd they’ll bring in at night. On vinyl DJ events and themed nights, the room gets packed.
At the end of the wooden bar, the founder and owner, Chris Maestro, talked about his influences growing up from Metallica transforming into Hip Hop, “there’s a drumset in the basement and every month, we’ll all get together and jam.” His passion for beer and vinyl makes this vinyl bar one of the bests in all of NYC.
Gold Star Beer Counter, 176 Underhill Ave., Prospect Heights
Brooklyn
The Age of Consent by New Order spins on the turntable. This bar grasps onto a home-sweet-urban-home laidback feeling, as tiny succulents sat above the taps and hanging plants levitated below the trim of the venue.
A woman in a navy raincoat who sits at a table in the rear of the bar, closes her laptop and orders a charcuterie sandwich from the bartender- speck, gouda, half dried tomato, pesto & balsamic, after consuming her two ciders.
The barback lights up pillar candles. Behind the bar sits board games like Yahtzee, Scrabble and even a Ouiji board, creating a moody-hangout for everyone to sit back and relax. Each tap is marked with a gift tag of what the beer is called, while a vintage espresso machine that could be mistaken as a sewing machine is placed next to empty glasses.
The bartender Eric, 25, who wears a five-panel hat and rocks a well-groomed mustache, pours himself a beer on tap- the Bellwood Jelly King, a cherry infused sour beer. “We’ve been open for about 3 years, it’s cool because it’s really niche. I’m surprised there’s not more vinyl bars.”
For those under 21:
Hifi Records & Cafe, 23–19 Steinway St., Astoria
Queens
If you like coffee and music- stop into Hifi. An Indie Record shop where you can buy, sell, trade any vinyl or CD’s, or buy a new or used turntable while you can sip a cappuccino or mocha latte.
With events such as vinyl spinning parties, themed-holiday parties (free to the public to join), musician signings and performances- this vinyl cafe is a hidden gem in Astoria.
