Just for the record, we’re really excited about this news. We got the scoop on Citizen Vinyl – one of Asheville’s most anticipated new bizzes of 2020. This boutique vinyl pressing plant, record store, community gathering space + bar/cafe is set to open in the Citizen-Times building (14 O’Henry Ave.) in mid-September.

Here’s what to know about the historic location –

Construction on the modern building was completed in 1939.
It was designed by architect (and Asheville High School grad) Tony Lord. From design through construction, the project took 15 months.
It’s been the home of the Asheville Citizen and Asheville Times papers (which merged in 1991).
The building’s third floor was also the headquarters of the radio station WWNC (Wonderful Western North Carolina) 570 AM – one of the country’s leading radio stations. DYK: WWNC was Asheville’s first radio station, and it’s currently under the ownership of iHeartRadio (Bonus: Be sure to listen on Thursday mornings at 8:40 a.m., when the AVLtoday crew joins host Mark Starling to talk everything AVL).
The Citizen-Times crew will continue to work out of the building.

Ready for the spin (get it?) on Citizen Vinyl? Read on for details.

The founder + visionary is Gar Ragland, veteran music producer and creator of the NewSong Recordings label and the NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition. He’ll be using Studio A in the space for the label.
This will be North Carolina’s first onsite pressing plant and will be available for first-time vinyl clients as well as major labels. Since shipping and manufacturing will be kept in-house, Citizen Vinyl will be able to fulfill low-volume orders for economical prices, and will also be able to take on large projects.
Also in the space: a record store, performance space, and Session – a bar/cafe from Susannah Gebhart (OWL Bakery) and Graham House (formerly of Sovereign Remedies). Session will offer coffee and pastries during the day and dinner specials + cocktails in the evenings. There will be a dedicated dining space, or patrons can take their food into the building’s mezzanine for an “eat-and-work” hour.

Citizen Vinyl will also be a community space – with educational music programs + talks, rotating art installations, album listening parties + more. On board to help with programming, manufacturing + final aesthetic: Colby Caldwell (REVOLVE), Tracey Morgan (Tracey Morgan Gallery), Karie Reinertson and Rob Maddox (Shelter Collective), Eric Pieper (Homestead Creative Studio), and engineer Peter Schaper.

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