It’s not uncommon to find vinyl records at an antique store. But what about an entire record store inside an antique store?
Nearly half of the upper level of Lucky 7 Antiques in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is devoted to the Vinyl Emporium.
You can enter Lucky 7 Antiques, 2821 Mt. Vernon Road SE, either through the lower level front door or by walking up the steps to the right of the building to access the upper level where you will find the Vinyl Emporium.
Pro tip: Choose the lower level entrance. Sure, it will take you longer to get to the record bins, but you will get to experience some fun, crazy, weird… um, unique(?) antiques along the way. Like these two:
Once you find your way upstairs, head to the front of the store to find the Vinyl Emporium. The room is nearly half full of racks of vinyl.
A good portion of the inventory during my recent visit was late 70s and early 80s classic rock. According to the desk worker, the selection is constantly changing as the owner continues to purchase used vinyl.
If you’re not searching for the likes of Journey or Steely Dan, there are still a ton of fun gems to uncover at the Vinyl Emporium and Lucky 7 Antiques. That includes this oddly specific album for the folks of Cedar Rapids:
Heck yeah, you should take pride in Cedar Rapids!
It’s a cool city with some great public art and food in the downtown area, while smells like Cap’n Crunch thanks to a nearby General Mills plant.
The Vinyl Emporium actually creates its own artwork as a way to recycle unusable records that are found when the store purchases albums by the lot.
For $3 (or free when you spend $10) you can get a recycled record bowl, which is an album melted down into the shape of a bowl.
For just $1, you can get a recycled record label coaster. Someone made the time to carefully cut around the label of a few unusable records to make these fun coasters:
Besides vinyl records and DIY vinyl artwork, the Vinyl Emporium also is home to vintage stereo equipment and other music related items including books and toys. There’s even a selection of used musical instruments available in another upstairs room.
Lucky 7 Antiques isn’t a large store by any means, but between the Vinyl Emporium and the rest of its antiques and collectibles, it packs a lot into its square footage.
Even if you’re only interested in the Vinyl Emporium, you should still plan to spend some time getting lost among the other items in the store. You will likely find something you have never seen before or maybe something from your childhood.
Seriously, when was the last time you saw a Mason jar from 1858?
Yeah No Great 