Del Ray Now Has Two Record Stores Across the Street, and the Owners Wanted It That Way
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
"He said the more the merrier, and it'll only make it more of a destination, which is exactly what we thought." That's how Michael Babin of Neighborhood Restaurant Group described his call with Crooked Beat Records owner Bill Daly, as reported by ALXnow. Babin made the call before opening a second record shop on the same stretch of Mount Vernon Avenue.
"I reached out to him immediately," Babin told the outlet.
Two months later, Del Ray has both stores. Mobius Records opened at 2016 Mount Vernon Avenue on September 12, 2026. Crooked Beat soft-opened at 2101B Mount Vernon Avenue on September 25, across the street and about a block away. Together the shops make one record-shopping trip. They stock different things and keep different weekly schedules. Each is tied into a different set of Avenue neighbors, too.
The plan was public by early July. On July 1, ALXnow reported that Daly had announced Crooked Beat's move to 2101B Mount Vernon Avenue. He expected to open there in August. "We'll be selling records and getting records in real soon," he said. The next day, the same outlet reported that Neighborhood Restaurant Group would put a record shop at 2016 Mount Vernon Avenue. The shop would replace Mulberry Lane Play Café and sell a mix of new and used records, and Shorty's Deluxe would stay in the space.
So the two openings were announced a day apart, and Babin had already talked with Daly. When Crooked Beat's August target slipped to late September, Mobius ended up opening first by about two weeks.
Crooked Beat had been on the Avenue before. It came to Del Ray in 2023 after seven years in Old Town North, and Daly first opened it in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1997. Its previous home was a basement shop up the street at 2417 Mount Vernon Avenue. That space closed in May after flooding in January. The new location is a two-story townhouse that, according to ALXnow, neighbors say sat vacant for more than a decade. "It's like the Twilight Zone, same colors, same atmosphere," Daly said in a video shared as the shop reopened.
The two stores divide the work as much as they share it. Here's how each one describes itself.
| Crooked Beat Records | Mobius Records | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 2101B Mount Vernon Ave. | 2016 Mount Vernon Ave. |
| Opened on the Avenue | Soft opening Sept. 25, 2026; grand reopening Oct. 30 | Sept. 12, 2026 |
| Who runs it | Owner Bill Daly, in business since 1997 | Neighborhood Restaurant Group |
| What it emphasizes | New vinyl from indie labels; thousands of used records; a section for DC and regional artists | New releases, used music, CDs and tapes |
| Shares space with | Its own label office on the top floor | Shorty's Deluxe sandwich shop |
Crooked Beat bills itself as the "Largest Selection of New Vinyl in the DC Area." It lists indie labels like Dischord, Touch & Go, Merge, Matador, Sub Pop, Numero and Light in the Attic, and says it carries the big labels too. Its used stock covers classic rock, soul, punk, new wave, reggae, soundtracks and jazz, with new arrivals every day. A separate section is set aside for local acts, nodding to the region's history in jazz, R&B, bluegrass, punk and go-go.
The new building also changed how the shop is laid out. The Zebra reported that used vinyl takes the upper level and new releases fill the ground floor. The top story is office space for the store's revived label. The outlet also reported that a staff member who once worked for Tower Records and the Smithsonian hand-letters every display card and artist divider.
Mobius Records splits its shop into new releases, used music, and CDs and tapes. It also runs a rotating "Fresh Used" section with used vinyl and tapes. If you're after a cassette or a CD, that's the side of the street to check first. If you want a Dischord pressing or a local go-go record, cross over to Crooked Beat.
The stores' posted hours mostly don't overlap in the gaps, and that matters more than it sounds. Crooked Beat is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Mobius is open both days.
So at least one record shop on the Avenue opens its doors every day. Thursday through Sunday, you can visit both on the same afternoon. Crooked Beat's website still labels its schedule "Soft Open Hours," so check crookedbeat.com or call (703) 244-5003 before planning around a Monday evening.
The two shops also tie into the Avenue in different ways, which is where Babin's "destination" comment starts to make sense.
Mobius sits inside one restaurant group's cluster of businesses. Neighborhood Restaurant Group also owns Evening Star Cafe and Hi/Fi Tex-Mex BBQ at 2000 Mount Vernon Avenue and Planet Wine at 2004 Mount Vernon Avenue. Shorty's Deluxe shares the record shop's own space. Within a few doors, you can get a sandwich at the register, a bottle next door, and dinner at the corner.
Crooked Beat's ties showed in its plans for the grand reopening on Friday, October 30. The shop advertised a party from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. with live music starting at 11. Its plans included free T-shirts printed with the new address for the first 30 customers who bought something, a Pink Floyd box set raffle, and a giveaway of signed vinyl from The Owners Monster. It also promised coupons from what the shop called "our friends at the Department of Beer and Wine and Continues Arcade." Two nearby businesses put their names on the party.
So each store adds a different kind of reason to walk the Avenue. One is part of a restaurant group's block. The other is an independent shop working with nearby businesses. Both put more records within a short walk of each other than the street had a year ago.
Crooked Beat marks 29 years in business in November, according to The Zebra. Daly named the shop after "The Crooked Beat," a song from The Clash's 1980 album Sandinista!
There are two dates on the calendar:
If you want a specific Black Friday title, the email list is the step to take this week. The Thanksgiving weekend line is too late.
If you've watched a long-empty Mount Vernon Avenue storefront fill back in and wondered what it means for the block, I'm always glad to talk it through. I've spent more than 20 years watching how these Northern Virginia streets change. Reach out to Jennifir Birtwhistle any time. Let's Connect.
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