"He said the more the merrier, and it'll only make it more of a destination, which is exactly what we thought." Michael Babin of Neighborhood Restaurant Group told ALXnow that this is how Bill Daly answered when Babin called to say NRG was opening a record store a block from Daly's shop.
Babin made the call before Mobius Records opened, and it sums up what happened on the north end of Mount Vernon Avenue this fall. Two record stores now face each other across the street. A new brewery taproom is a few doors away. One restaurant group holds three addresses on the same short run of the avenue. Each opening was meant to give people one more reason to walk to this end of Del Ray.
Two Shops, Two Routes to the Same Block
Mobius Records opened Saturday, Sept. 12, at 2016 Mount Vernon Avenue. It took over the space that Mulberry Lane Play Café used to occupy and shares the room with Shorty's Deluxe, the sandwich shop. NRG runs it. In an opening-day post that ALXnow quoted, the shop said it would have "an unbeatable list of records, CDs, merch and more" and threw a party on what it called "our little corner of Mount Vernon Ave."
Thirteen days later, Crooked Beat Records reopened across the street at 2101B Mount Vernon Avenue. Crooked Beat is the older of the two by decades. ALXnow reported that the store first opened in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1997. It then spent seven years in Old Town North and moved into a basement shop at 2417 Mount Vernon Avenue in 2023. Water damage in January forced it out of that space, and it closed there in May.
The new space sits farther down the avenue. It is a two-story, 950-square-foot townhouse that neighbors told ALXnow had been vacant for more than a decade. In a video ahead of the reopening, Daly described the new space this way, as ALXnow reported: "It's like the Twilight Zone, same colors, same atmosphere."
Both stores ended up on this block for different reasons. Crooked Beat needed a new home. NRG had a spot open up next to businesses it already runs. Either way, Daly's move put him on the same block as the newcomer instead of half a mile up the street.
One Owner, Three Addresses on a Short Stretch
NRG runs Mobius at 2016, Evening Star Cafe and Hi/Fi Tex-Mex BBQ at 2000, and Planet Wine at 2004. When a group runs a restaurant, a wine shop and a record store a few doors apart, a crowd that comes for one tends to stop at the others. Babin's remark about becoming "more of a destination" describes a whole block, and a second record store across the street makes the trip more worthwhile.
The newest neighbor is Crooked Run Fermentation. Its Del Ray taproom opened Friday, Aug. 28, at 2003a Mount Vernon Avenue. Crooked Run owns breweries elsewhere, and its official page lists Del Ray as its latest location. It describes the room as a relaxed bar with beer and bar snacks, dog-friendly, with shaded outdoor seating.
That puts a beer, a sandwich, a glass of wine and two crates of used vinyl within a few doors of one another. Before Aug. 28, this end of the avenue had none of the three newest pieces.
How the Hours Line Up
The two shops' posted hours fit together, which matters if you want to visit both in one afternoon. Here is what each store listed as of mid-October.
| Day | Mobius Records, 2016 Mt. Vernon | Crooked Beat, 2101B Mt. Vernon | Crooked Run, 2003a Mt. Vernon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Noon to 5 p.m. | 1 to 7 p.m. | 3 to 9 p.m. |
| Tuesday | Noon to 7 p.m. | Closed | 3 to 9 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Noon to 7 p.m. | Closed | 3 to 9 p.m. |
| Thursday | Noon to 7 p.m. | Noon to 7 p.m. | 3 to 9 p.m. |
| Friday | 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. | Noon to 7 p.m. | 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Saturday | 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Sunday | Noon to 5 p.m. | Noon to 6 p.m. | Check the taproom's page |
Crooked Beat's website still labels its schedule "Soft Open Hours," so expect changes as the store settles in. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Mobius is the only one of the two that is open. Thursday through Monday, you can walk across Mount Vernon Avenue and dig through both. On weekdays, Crooked Run opens at 3 p.m., and both record shops are open until 7 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays. That makes the last stretch of the afternoon the easiest time to do all three.
The Shops Are Running Their Own Calendars
Mobius is already hosting events. Its first is an Olivia Tremor Control listening party this Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. It is free and open to all ages. Two more events follow at No. 9 Lounge. A Darkest Hour listening party runs Oct. 29 from 8:30 p.m., and a NØ MAN record release show is Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. The release show costs $15 and is open to all ages.
Crooked Beat is looking ahead to Record Store Day Black Friday on Nov. 27. Its homepage asks customers which titles they want the store to stock. It also cautions that it cannot guarantee every requested title.
Where the Block Fits in Del Ray's Fall
The Del Ray Business Association's schedule for the rest of the year runs along this same avenue, so the record shops sit right on the route.
- Oct. 22, Thursday: Olivia Tremor Control listening party at Mobius, 7 p.m.
- Oct. 24, Saturday: Farmers market at Pat Miller Neighborhood Square, and a pumpkin carving party at 12 p.m. at 2312 Mount Vernon Avenue for $25 per person, pumpkins and tools included.
- Oct. 25, Sunday: The 30th Annual Del Ray Halloween Parade steps off at 2 p.m. from E. Bellefonte Avenue and travels along Mount Vernon Avenue. It ends with live music and awards at the Mount Vernon Rec Center field. This year adds a group and float contest for the first time, with no motorized floats or vehicles allowed. The Pork Barrel BBQ Kids Zone runs from noon to 5 p.m. behind 2312 Mount Vernon Avenue.
- Oct. 29, Thursday: Darkest Hour listening party with Mobius at No. 9 Lounge.
- Oct. 30, Friday: The 3rd Annual Haunted House at The Company of Books, 2200 Mount Vernon Avenue, from 6 to 9 p.m.
- Nov. 1, Sunday: Last day of the Nightmare on the Avenue Halloween pop-up bar at 2312 Mount Vernon Avenue.
- Nov. 12, Thursday: NØ MAN record release show with Mobius at No. 9 Lounge.
- Nov. 14, Saturday: The farmers market, Vintage & Flea Market and Gustave Art & Craft Market, all at Pat Miller Neighborhood Square.
- Nov. 27, Friday: RSD Black Friday.
- Dec. 6, Sunday: Holiday Season Kick-Off at Pat Miller Neighborhood Square.
- Dec. 10, Thursday: Shops of Del Ray Holiday Sip & Shop along Mount Vernon Avenue.
- Dec. 12, Saturday: The 11th Annual Candy Cane Bar Crawl along Mount Vernon Avenue, 12:30 to 6 p.m.
The farmers market also runs every Saturday at Pat Miller Neighborhood Square through Dec. 5. Anyone walking the avenue for the Sip & Shop now passes two record stores across the street from each other.
The parade page also announces a Halloween scavenger hunt along the avenue. Participants look for Halloween-themed items in decorated shops and hand-painted windows, and five randomly selected entries each win a $50 gift card to a Del Ray business.
If you are a Del Ray homeowner, you have just watched a long-vacant townhouse on your main street turn into a working shop, and a cluster of businesses take shape around it. If you are curious what changes like that mean for property on and near Mount Vernon Avenue, from storefront buildings to the homes a few blocks off it, Payam Bakhaje is glad to walk through it with you. Let's Connect.
