Adams Morgan Record Store to Close in May

(Updated at 2:40 p.m.) A record store that has spent more than a decade in Adams Morgan is set to shut down next month over health concerns.

Crooked Beat Records at 2116 18th St. NW is slated to close May 29 due to “serious respiratory problems” owner Bill Daly developed while working in the shop, according to a post published today on the store’s Facebook page.

The “old” building, which Crooked Beat has occupied since 2004, has “too many problems” that “have been constant, aggravating and very stressful” during the past year, the announcement says.

“Over the last several months, there have also been many customers who have emailed, called or even openly commented on the unsatisfactory conditions existing within our store space,” the post says. “Instead of continuing to operate under these substandard conditions, we feel it is very necessary to leave and start looking for a new location.”

Daly mentioned his concerns with the building on Facebook last month, saying he would consider keeping Crooked Beat where it is if its building is “brought to a more satisfactory level.”

The record store owner hasn’t identified his landlord, and it wasn’t immediately known who owns the building.

The full Crooked Beat post from today reads:

Hi Everyone,

Today we are sorry to announce that Crooked Beat will be closing at our current location of 2116 18th Street in DC on Sunday, May 29th.
Though we have loved being here all these years, we have had too many problems with this old building over the last year, so much so that we declined to sign a 5-year extension on our lease here at this location. These problems have been constant, aggravating and very stressful since last year; not to mention, the issues have caused Bill to have serious respiratory problems. Over the last several months, there have also been many customers who have emailed, called or even openly commented on the unsatisfactory conditions existing within our store space. Instead of continuing to operate under these substandard conditions, we feel it is very necessary to leave and start looking for a new location. Unfortunately, at this time we currently do not have a new location to announce. But, we are actively looking. Until we find a new space, the store will be operating online at www.crookedbeat.com effective May 31. All inventory will be available to order online until we find and announce a new store location.

After 19 years of us having a store, we really feel this is a dawning of a new era for Crooked Beat. We have had a great deal of success with the store in the Adams Morgan neighborhood in DC over the last decade or so. So we are really upbeat and optimistic regarding the future of the store as well as our Crooked Beat record label that we started a few years ago. Taking a quote from one of our all-time favorite DC bands, the Bad Brains, “We got that P.M.A. (Positive Mental Attitude).”
Though our physical store is going away for a while, we will resurface again in a few months with a new location and, more importantly, improved health!
So stay tuned!
Thanks for 12 great years in Adams Morgan!

And in the words of Fugazi – KYEO

All the Best,

Bill & Helen Daly and Staff at Crooked Beat

Photo via Facebook/Crooked Beat Records