Austin staple Waterloo Records gets new home after 30 years

Waterloo Records gets new home after 30 years

After more than 30 years at its North Lamar location, Waterloo Records has a new home, and it's right up the street.

AUSTIN - After more than 30 years at its North Lamar location, Waterloo Records has a new home, and it's right up the street. 

FOX 7 took a look at the record store's grand opening celebration in Austin on Saturday. 

Waterloo Records grand reopening

Waterloo Records

The iconic venue was busy Saturday, celebrating its grand opening with a new location in North Lamar, just five blocks north from its previous spot.

Last year, co-owner John Kunz sold part of the Waterloo to new partners Caren Kelleher and Trey Watson. 

The grand opening highlighted a new era while keeping Waterloo’s legacy intact. 

What's new:

With a new location comes new features like a mixing studio, rentable podcast and peformance spaces, and even a bar serving coffee, beer and wine. 

The new location also offers nearly 9,700 square feet, 3,000 more than the old store. 

‘Everyone is welcome’

Waterloo Records

What they're saying:

"Waterloo Records is an iconic record store, not just in Austin, but across the globe," said Kelleher.

"Every time, it's growing bigger and also growing better at the same time," said Kunz.

The owners are excited about the iconic store's new beginnings, though a change of this size takes time to get used to. 

"It was really kind of a scary prospect when the land that Waterloo used to be on was sold, and thankfully the real estate company was extremely patient and let us find this new spot," said Kelleher.

They're looking forward to the growth that comes with offering new services.

"It’s a 50 percent bigger store. It allows us to have experiences like this. This is our podcast studio that will be rentable to the community," said Kelleher.

"So fantastic to know that it's multi-generational, that everyone is welcome and feels safe and it's all because of music," said Kelleher.

What's next:

You still have time to get in on the grand re-opening fun.

You can stop by Waterloo Records at 1105 North Lamar Boulevard until 9 p.m. Saturday night.