Atomic Pop Shop plans expansion – Government Street store gets bigger this Spring

Atomic Pop Shop owner Kerry Beary says she’s planning an expansion to nearly double the size of her 1,500-square-foot store at 2963 Government St., as well as make repairs to the building’s roof and add a parking lot to the Mid City store specializing in vinyl records.

“We’ll have space for more of everything,” says Beary. “We’ll have more records, electronics, more vintage items. We’re also going to have a parking lot with about 10 to 15 spaces.”

Beary plans to renovate an existing space located behind her current shop for the expansion. The parking lot will also be built in the rear of the business, which is sandwiched among a stretch of retail shops and office spaces slated for renovations and upgrades under an effort called Model Block.

Beary says work will begin soon, with completion on the entire project expected by the spring.

Thanks to the resurgence of vinyl records, Beary says business has been better than expected since she opened the shop about three years ago.

“We’ve been blown away by how well received we’ve been,” she says. “A decade ago, vinyl was barely on the map.”

According to Nielsen Soundscan, vinyl sales grew 32% in 2013 while digital and CD sales both declined.