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As records for sale stacked up inside Indy CD & Vinyl, store owners Annie Skinner and Andy Skinner said the Broad Ripple shop surrendered part of its identity as a neighborhood gathering space.
Indy CD & Vinyl, 806 Broad Ripple Ave., initially discontinued activity on the stage at the back of the store because of the pandemic. The stage’s two uses—a hangout for youngsters while parents shopped and a place for musicians to perform—became low priorities during the era of social distancing.
Eventually, pinball machines found a home there and vinyl inventory creeped into most available spots in the store.
But the opportunity to take over the storefront next door, most recently occupied by Landsharks nightclub, will lead to a new Indy CD & Vinyl stage and a revived concept of connectivity in Broad Ripple.
“The neighborhood is sorely lacking in family and all-ages options, community engagement and ‘third space,’” Andy Skinner said. “There are other neighborhoods we’ve visited in the past few months where, even if you’re not a shopper, there are things to do.”
The store’s expansion, known as “The 808 at Indy CD & Vinyl,” is projected to open by the April 2025 edition of Record Store Day.
Physical renovations will involve the addition of an overhead door that provides passage between the 806 and 808 addresses, the husband-and-wife team said. In the vast majority of cases, visitors to Indy CD & Vinyl and the 808 will enter through the door at 806 Broad Ripple Ave.
“On occasion, we’ll have people go through the 808 front door and have a ticketed event that’s all ages,” Andy Skinner said. “It will be done by 10 or 11, like a normal concert would be.”
Before the pandemic, performers on the Indy CD & Vinyl stage ranged from new Indiana artists to a 2019 in-store set featuring platinum-selling band Mumford & Sons.
“We’re not opening a venue in the sense that we’re going to have Hi-Fi-type shows every night and it will be all ages,” Skinner said, referring to Fountain Square’s Hi-Fi concert space.
The Skinners are veteran event promoters who also are a DJ team known as A-Squared Industries, founders of monthly “dark alternative” dance night Spellbound that’s presented at nightclubs such as Fountain Square’s White Rabbit Cabaret.
The store can reclaim its role of hosting artist signings, meet-and-greets and the debut performances by teenage bands, Annie Skinner said.
“We have passed up a lot of opportunities and things that are at our core mission to make Indianapolis a better place,” she said.
It’s not news that the residential demographics of Broad Ripple are shifting.
“There’s a huge increase in the amount of apartments being built and there’s more to come,” Skinner said. “How do we capture the entertainment dollar and shopping dollar of these residents and keep them in the neighborhood?”
Landsharks, in business since 1995, closed this spring following a fatal shooting inside the nightclub. Fox59, a news partner of IBJ Media, reported that 25-year-old Nicholas Fulk was arrested on murder charges for his alleged role in the March 16 shooting.
Timothy Brown Jr., a part-time employee at Landsharks, died after being shot during the incident.
The Skinners said Broad Ripple deserves to retain its reputation as a cultural destination. It’s disheartening, Annie said, to see harsh criticism of the neighborhood.
“It’s so weird to pit neighborhoods against each other,” she said. “We’re all part of one city. People should be lifting each neighborhood up to become successful.”
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Saw the DJ from Jurassic 5 spin some records there. Good times, and even got my single signed.