Longtime RVA music retailer Plan 9 Records, who have been in business in the Carytown area for over three decades, have relocated. Opening last week in part of the space formerly occupied by Pirouzan Oriental Rugs, the record store is now located at 3017 W. Cary St, across the street from the location it had occupied for the past 16 years.
Longtime RVA music retailer Plan 9 Records, who have been in business in the Carytown area for over three decades, have relocated. Opening last week in part of the space formerly occupied by Pirouzan Oriental Rugs, the record store is now located at 3017 W. Cary St, across the street from the location it had occupied for the past 16 years.
The move has been coming for a while–when RVA Magazine contributor Jaime Turko spoke to Plan 9 owner Jim Bland last year as part of our series on the way technology has affected small businesses, Bland mentioned that the store was looking for a smaller location.
“We just don’t need as much space as we have now,” Bland told us at the time. “A smaller space will let us live for a little while longer, where the cost of operation is more commensurate with our sales in the store, and the space is easier to monitor.” Appropriately, their new space is just one room on one floor, rather than the sprawling two-story setup they had at their previous location. “It’s a little cozier, but we were able to fit in all of the product we had at the old store,” Bland told Richmond BizSense in an interview earlier this week.
Plan 9’s current location may yet be temporary–the store’s management is still working out a longterm leasing structure with the owner of their new location, and if an agreement cannot be reached, they may move again. However, they will be in their current spot through January, at least. Bland told Richmond BizSense that they’d know whether the current location was permanent “toward the middle part of January, maybe sooner. We’re getting some estimates on some things — what we can do as far as rent goes.”
Even if Plan 9 has to move again, they’d like to stay in Carytown. “We’ve been there forever,” Bland told Richmond BizSense. “That’s been our known destination for years and years. So if we can find a way to afford it, we’ll stay.” Regardless of what the new year brings, though, for the rest of this Christmas season, you’ll be able to find Plan 9 at their new location at 3017 W. Cary St, so when you’re shopping for presents this year, be sure to stop by! Support local and it will support you.
