Four months ago, the Virgin Megastore in the Forum Shops closed its doors, adding to the local record store void that began with the closing of downtown's venerable Odyssey Records in February 2004. Since then, the only large-scale record store in town has been the Tower Records inside the WOW! Superstore at Sahara and Decatur. On May 6, though, doors will open on Vegas' newest music retailer, the first non-Arizona location of Phoenix-based chain Zia Records.
Zia's location at Flamingo and Eastern will be, at nearly 12,000 square feet, almost twice as large as the largest Arizona store, and will feature a mix of new and used CDs and used records, although the store will start out carrying more new product until it can accumulate enough used. Store manager Karl Hartwig (who was the Virgin Megastore's manager at the time it closed in January) estimates that Zia will eventually carry up to 50% used product, putting it in competition with local indie used record stores including Big B's and the five-location Record City.
Zia's Tempe store, just a block from Arizona State University, was for years a legendary hang-out for hardcore vinyl collectors and anyone who fancied themselves a step more involved in music than the mainstream.
Hartwig and Zia's higher-ups have big plans for the Vegas store, including stocking a wide selection of local music, possibly selling tickets for some smaller local venues, and featuring live performances by local acts every Friday and Saturday on-stage inside the store. The Zia locations in Arizona are known for their in-store performances, and on May 9, only a few days after opening, Zia Las Vegas will feature a signing and live performance from Team Sleep, a new side project from Deftones front man Chino Moreno. Team Sleep will play a full concert the following day at Jillian's.
It's that kind of thing that Hartwig hopes will build buzz and support for Zia in Vegas. "I really see Zia as the best thing that this town has needed for such a long time," he says. "It's going to fill a niche in this market that's just not being met right now." Freed of Virgin's corporate constraints, Hartwig is looking forward to making Zia a vital part of the Las Vegas music scene. He's got several of his former Virgin co-workers on board, and sees Zia as the antidote to the overly bureaucratic chain store mentality. "I have a manager here who worked for Sam Goody and was given quotas for how many accessories he had to sell," Hartwig says. "At Virgin, we'd get secret shoppers and if we didn't reach a certain level on our score we were docked and given counseling. That's not the type of pressure that we deal with here."
As for Virgin itself? According to a company spokesperson, there is no timetable for the promised re-opening of the Las Vegas store in a new location, although it's still set to happen at some point.