Uncle Aldo’s Attic is closing its current location on June 30. Sometimes, though, good news is also in the mix where there’s bad news, and this is one of those cases.
The store specializing in used and vintage records is heading to a new Mesa location, on Main Street, and closer to a lot of the action. “About a mile from The Nile and the surrounding businesses,” owner Desi Scarpone says.
While the move and the location are great happenings for the shop, it was a business deal that propelled the action. “Mountain America Credit Union bought the plaza, and it is getting bulldozed. Right now, I’m the last man standing over here,” Scarpone adds.
While Scarpone will be paying around the same square footage rent rate, this new place is about three times the size of his current location. It doesn’t sound like it will be a problem to fill all that room. “We are already using all of it, including the wall space. We’ve been able to add a ton more records. It’s nice because there’s just more room to work with and to move around.
His penchant for vintage items is one thing that will remain the same. “We are mostly ’50s through ’80s,” Scarpone says, speaking about his inventory. “We have 8-track tapes, cassettes, reel-to-reels, comic books and toys in the mix. Posters, 7-inch records, and 45s. No CDs, though.”
For those who don’t think there are many cassette users out there, Scarpone says that they’re a big seller for him. “Laser discs and video discs, too, a little bit of everything.”
Scarpone doesn’t have an exact date when the new location at 900 E. Main Street in Mesa will open, but he is aiming for mid-July.
When he isn’t handling that massive undertaking, Scarpone, who has had a long career in the movie industry, is also editing a low-budget horror flick called “Ride!” about a dangerous rideshare driver that he plans to submit to the movie festival circuit.
