The Reference: music and coffee

9
May
2012

The Reference: music and coffee

Nostalgia: it’s an emotion that gives you a fuzzy feeling and puts a dreamy smile on your face. Nothing more nostalgic than the vinyl record: the cracking sound, the oldies music… But in this digital era it’s proven difficult to maintain a vinyl record business. But not to worry, the record store owners have found a new approach to make their business flourish. We’re talking about a new Antwerp phenomenon where vinyl record stores are being morphed together with coffee shops, creating the ultimate relaxing environment to dive into nostalgia.

A store that realizes this concept extremely well is Coffee & vinyl. Situated in the trendy south of Antwerp (Volkstraat 45) the shop is a place you’ll want to put on your treasure map. Besides the location the store stands out because of its great interior. The shop is divided into two areas: the record space that looks like the real deal but with a modern twist, a cool and minimalistic room that brings peace to your head. For the coffee bar in the front of the store owner Lars Cosemans went for a retro approach with vintage furniture and formica color blocks, still remaining sober but now adding warmth. The shop also serves as an exhibition space, which explains the tasteful art works on the walls. The merger between music and coffee is even translated in the original coffee names. Can we have a Peggy Lee (latte with vanilla) please?

A somewhat different approach is followed by Tune up (Melkmarkt 17) where the focus is not primarily on the combination of coffee and vinyl. Although a nice cup of Illy is certainly available, Tune up tries to attract customers by giving live performances in the store. For example our national pride dEUS performed in the store to promote the debut of their album ‘Keep you close’. In Tune up as well, art finds its way to the record store with exhibitions that are mostly related to the music industry. The interior here is a bit more sturdy and nonchalant which creates a relaxed atmosphere to browse around in the apple crates full of records.

It’s striking how the two shops seem to act on the same principles: bringing vinyl, live music, coffee and art together! We strongly advice other Belgian cities to follow their high set example but until then: to Antwerp!

I LOVE BELGIUM