ARLINGTON, Texas—Flashback to 2020, when the world was plagued by COVID-19, virtually shutting down the entire world, and fear kept many people in their homes.
Local businesses faced the loss of their entire clientele. One in three small businesses closed because of the pandemic.
This was the reality the owners of Truth Vinyl faced five years ago when they were forced to close their doors to the public. But this closure was always meant to be temporary.
On Feb. 27, 2025, Truth Vinyl reopened at 300 E. Division St. in Arlington, the venue’s newer and bigger location.
Pandemic changed consumer behavior
Truth Vinyl’s retail sales and talent director Shelly Michele discussed her experience and fear when the pandemic first hit, saying “it was definitely difficult.”
Michele said the pandemic changed people’s shopping behavior.
“People weren’t browsing,” Michele said. “They weren’t buying. People weren’t socializing anymore, and the shows had to come to a complete halt. We just couldn’t make it.”
The owner, Ric Delzell, attempted to keep the business alive online, but it “wasn’t a good way to keep business” open, he said.
Before its closure, Truth Vinyl was a record shop and music venue located in Downtown Arlington. It hosted several shows per week, aiding local artists and DJs, with Michele in charge of booking them all.
“In the old location, it was just a great hang-out spot,” Michele said. “We had a great open mic, and we did lots of shows.”
Truth Vinyl re-imagines itself
But rather than dwell on what was, Truth Vinyl’s brain trust spent a lot of time re-imagining what the business could be.
“So much planning, just hard work and dreaming” has gone into reopening, Michele said. Some things have certainly changed since re-opening, but they’re planning on hosting “every kind of show you can imagine,” Michele said.
The vinyl shop has its own unique features, including listening stations, which include record players and headphones for guests to use and “experience the broader spectrum of sound,” reads Truth Vinyl’s website. The business sells a wide variety of records across genre, including vintage and used records, which sell next to brand-new and recent ones. Truth Vinyl thrives by its “See, hear, feel” methodology, the staple of its website.
Truth Vinyl is now 21+ because of the addition of its newest sister business and cocktail bar, Truth Serum. The buildings are connected and allow customers to listen to open mics or a DJ’s music while sipping on a cocktail and shopping for the latest record. If you are under 21, feel free to shop in the vinyl store to your heart’s content, but the showroom is only for those of drinking age.
“Pretty much everyone just gets together, has a good time, and listens to music,” a bartender said. The bar offers “upscale craft cocktails” paired with a “chill and cozy vibe,” she said.
Each bartender has his or her own signature cocktail on the menu, and the eager “expert mixologists” are ready to answer or modify any request. They even offer mocktails for those who wish not to drink.
Truth Serum opened before the vinyl portion of the building, just before the Super Bowl. Both businesses are active on both Instagram and Facebook, constantly posting about upcoming events and outreach to the community. The Truth Vinyl website reads, “Our ongoing social mission is to promote the arts and music in the local community.”
Hosts frequent events
Every Thursday, Truth holds karaoke, and every Saturday, there is a show from a live, local band. Truth lends its professional and fully equipped stage to emerging artists of all genres and ages. The Truth Serum showroom is a cover-free zone, striving for local, original music.
One Arlington local at the grand opening, Maria Albert-Diaz, took a particular liking to the place.
“As someone who’s not very familiar with Downtown Arlington, this shop has completely piqued my interest,” Albert-Diaz said. “In the short conversations I had with the staff, I feel like they were looking forward to all the events coming soon and re-opening.”
Truth also collaborates with the tattoo shop next door, Space Monkey Tattoo, frequently, featuring their back patio space for local vendors and food trucks.
Truth used to partner with student organizations like The Football Team: Creative Coalition at its previous location. Plans are underway to continue these events at the new location.
Truth recently joined Downtown Arlington’s “First Thursdays” program, and it plans to hold an event on the first Thursday of every month to support local businesses.
“We want Arlington locals to know that Truth is back,” Michele said.
