Music lovers in Mesa just got another reason to stay in town and off of the highway.
This morning, Zia Records announced the opening of an 11,000-square-foot superstore in Mesa on 1302 South Gilbert Road. The store is slated to open in June.
It appears Record Store Day has started early. The Mesa location will be the fifth Zia store in Maricopa County, and is bringing 25 new jobs to the city. (To apply, visit the Zia Records website or visit any Zia store.)
"With each store we try to make it a part of the area around it," says Brian Faber, Zia co-owner and vice president. "I think that this store will feel like that."
With a population of 464,000, Mesa is the third-biggest city in the state, following Tucson and Phoenix. With two locations in Phoenix, Tucson, and Las Vegas, one in Chandler, and one in Tempe, it begs the question: What took so long for Zia to get there?
"It probably took longer than it should have," Faber says, laughing. "We’re still a small company. We have multiple locations, but we’re still an independent record store. … We grow steadily and we do it with measured care. It makes a lot of sense for us right now."
Faber says that before Zia settled on Mesa for the new location, they were looking "all over the West Valley" for a new location. However, the Mesa government made things easy for the company, and as time passed, Mesa emerged as the best location for a new store.
"At Zia, we like to be in the heart of our communities and be a real big part of that, and it’s always a little trickier on the west side because the demographics are so spread out there," Faber says. "But Mesa hit all those boxes."
Zia will join Asylum Records, located in downtown Mesa, and The House of Used, at 2706 E. University Drive, as the third vinyl shop in town.
For more on the Valley-wide festivities tomorrow, check out our comprehensive guide to Record Store Day 2016.
Update, 4:50 p.m., 4/15/2016: Added The House of Used to the list of record stores in Mesa.