Commercial Avenue in Anacortes, Washington has hosted a record store since 1978, which means The Business has outlasted the CD era, the download era, and most of the vinyl revival trend pieces written about shops like it. Located at 810 Commercial Ave, the shop describes itself plainly as a brick and mortar record store specializing in new, independent releases on vinyl, and that focus on independent labels rather than major label reissues sets it apart from record stores that lean mostly on classic rock backstock and greatest hits pressings.
What makes The Business unusual among small town record shops is that retail is only part of the operation. Behind the counter, the store also runs wholesale distribution, mailorder fulfillment, and label operations, meaning it functions as a supply chain node for independent music as much as a place locals walk in to flip through bins. Independent labels and artists can have The Business handle distribution of their releases to other stores, fulfill mail orders for fans ordering online, and in some cases manage label side logistics entirely, a set of services that put a small Anacortes storefront in contact with a national and international network of independent music makers.
For nearly five decades the shop has held its ground in a waterfront town of roughly 17,000 people best known as a ferry gateway to the San Juan Islands, giving it an unusually long run for a niche music retailer in a small market. That longevity alone is a differentiator: most independent record stores that opened in the late 1970s did not survive the collapse of vinyl sales in the 1990s and 2000s, and The Business is one of the ones that did, repositioning around independent releases as the format came back into favor with collectors.
Shoppers can visit Monday through Thursday from 11 in the morning to 5 in the evening, and Friday and Saturday from 11 to 7, with the shop closed on Sundays. The Business can be reached at 360-293-9788 for anyone checking on new arrivals, a specific pressing, or wholesale and mailorder questions before making the trip to Commercial Avenue. Beyond the physical shelves, a portion of the store’s inventory is listed on Discogs, giving collectors outside the immediate area a way to browse and buy without visiting in person, and the shop keeps an active presence on Instagram and the platform formerly known as Twitter under the handle thebusinessrecs, posting new arrivals and updates for followers who want to keep tabs on stock between visits.
The combination of retail counter, distribution hub, and label support desk under one roof is what makes The Business worth knowing about beyond its own zip code. A collector browsing new independent vinyl finds the same shop that a small label might rely on to get its records into other stores across the country, which is a more layered role than most town record shops play. For anyone hunting new independent vinyl releases in Skagit County or looking for a distributor and mailorder partner for their own label, The Business in Anacortes has occupied that space on Commercial Avenue since 1978. The Business is Anacortes’ longtime independent record store and distribution hub, specializing in new vinyl releases alongside wholesale, mailorder, and label services for independent artists.
