After Waterloo Records sold its location on 6th and Lamar, longtime customers worried about the store’s future. A well-known Austin location was now at risk of losing its home. That was until owners John Kunz and Louis Karp sold the company to Caren Kheller, CEO of Gold Rush Vinyl, and Trey Watson, CEO of Armadillo Records. With Kheller, Watson and Kunz all co-owning, they invested in a new location, 1105 N. Lamar Blvd., which would give way to the biggest upgrades the company had seen yet. 

Waterloo held its grand opening on Aug. 30, with crowds gathering around to check out the new features, including a professional mixing studio, gold vinyl cutter, drink bar and podcasting studio. According to Waterloo sales associate and local Austin musician Gustave Ochoa, Waterloo hopes to use these new spaces to the best of their abilities, especially towards helping musicians.

“These days, a lot of different platforms require bands to record and mix their music professionally,” Ochoa said, “and so the brand new Dolby Atmos mixing studio will enable people to do so. Plus, there’s also a mechanism for the studio to talk to the stage during live performances.” 

The new recording and mixing studio helps performers easily get their performance in a digital format, which they can then press into vinyl, all in the same facility. 

“There’s also a machine that cuts specifically golden vinyl,” Ochoa said. “So you could conceivably have a band record straight from their performance on the stage to the mixing studio, which can then be pressed into vinyl. We partnered with Austin Signal, which John Nees owns, and they’re a record-cutting company, and so he had his leg in there.” 

Expanding on the mixing studio, they invested in a podcasting studio, which Ochoa believes will be used for various new social endeavors. 

“We hope to do internal content,” he said. “Things like a new release podcast or maybe an international podcast, and then hopefully bring people coming through Austin who are well known. Next to it, there’s also a bigger, more decked-out VIP room for bands when they come in to play.” 

Not only has Waterloo been specifically in Austin for over 40 years, but Austin has also held a prominent place in the American music scene, with approximately 44 record stores across the city and in neighboring areas. Plus, the largest record convention in America is held in Austin twice a year.

 For Ochoa, places like Waterloo keep physical media thriving in the modern age, especially in more modernized cities like Austin. 

“I think the people who run record stores are keeping it alive because they want to help strengthen the community,” he said. “They want to bring people out and give them a place to go to, like, share in their love of music. 
But I think that, as things have largely gone digital, people are looking for more tangible artifacts.” 

With Waterloo’s full and ever-changing selection, plus an even larger space, it’s become a hot spot for younger collectors looking to dive into record, CD or cassette collecting. 

“To have an album in your hand, that tangible thing, the artwork, and getting to open it up,  it’s a very interactive situation,” Ochoa said. “You have to place the record down, put the needle on the record, listen to that side of it, get up and flip it and do it again. It’s almost like gathering around the television used to be.” 

Despite moving so close to the old location, Ochoa and other Waterloo employees didn’t shy away from facing the project head-on.

“The move itself was an incredible undertaking,” he said. “The gentleman who built the record bins actually built a hydraulic lift to move each of the bins, which made it possible to do it very quickly. The stage itself, the middle part of it, Austin City Limits television donated to us. It was part of the original 6A stage in the old recording studio on UT campus, people like Willie Nelson have performed on there, and now it’s ours.” 

With Waterloo being one of the oldest record stores in Austin, it has hosted a large fan club of music lovers, including the owners and employees. According to Ochoa, they’ve made sure to always create a welcoming environment.

“I think it’s just our love of music and our belief that following music is the way to go,” he said. “So many businesses along the way have partnered with us, and they do so because music is magical. 
A lot of us who work here are musicians as well. Our owners have really fostered this environment to support us. Just that symbiotic relationship between the music scene in Austin and Waterloo, being the place that will give you a safe space as a musician.”

Not only has Waterloo become a place for older record collectors to find sanctuary, but for younger generations as well. For Sophomore Molly Forkner, Waterloo has helped her improve her ever-growing collection, and she hopes to continue doing so with the new expansion. 

“I love music, and I love to experience it in every shape and form,” Forkner said. “When I was old enough to handle my own money, I would go to stores like Waterloo and End of An Ear to continue collecting. Zines, CDs, cassettes, vinyls, concerts, these stores have everything that I love about music.” 

With music being such a diverse medium, Waterloo helps collectors like Forkner keep physical media alive and continually improve. 

“There’s just something so special about flipping through the booklet in your CD and reading the liner notes while blasting the music,” she said.

Similarly, sophomore Sunday Cardinal has been collecting records since she was young, as it was a bonding experience with her family, and stores like Waterloo helped those relationships to flourish through music. 

“Physical media is so important to me and my family because of the stores my parents tell me about, CDs and records that they’ve passed down to me,” she said. “That’s the sort of thing that makes physical media so important. I love Waterloo, and I could spend hours looking through their selections. I love finding old albums that I forgot existed and bring me back to different points in my life.” 

Cardinal is looking forward to the store’s growth, especially to see live music on their larger stage with more floor space. 

“I can’t wait to go see artists perform while shopping for vinyl,” Cardinal said. “And hopefully see some people using the recording equipment in action. 

Waterloo has immortalized itself as a staple Austin location, and with the new 1105 North Lamar location, they can continue to bring music lovers from across the state to buy records, see live music and get a taste of Austin music history.