Tokyo-Style Record Bar Headed for Underground West Village Space

On the heels of opening her hot West Village sparkling wine bar Air’s Champagne Parlor, owner Ariel Arce is adding a basement vinyl bar. Record bars are apparently big in Tokyo, at places where thousands of records line the wall alongside impressive whiskey collections. Though rules have loosened up over the years, historically people listened to the music in strict silence.

Here, Arce is putting her own more social spin on the genre for Tokyo Record Bar. Every night will have two “Vinyl Jukebox” seatings (6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.) with a $50 seven-course izakaya menu paired with a vinyl playlist created each night by customers; sake, beer, and cocktails are add-ons. Everything is available a la carte starting at 10 p.m. when a disc jockey takes over the music curation.

Tokyo Record Bar opens on August 31. Stay tuned for more.

• All Coverage of Air’s Champagne Parlor [ENY]