Rough Trade heads east

Music retailer Rough Trade opens its east London store doors today, with a coffee bar and a ‘snug’ adorned with tables and sofas for hanging out.

Designed by architect Adjaye Associates, the store at the Old Truman Brewery on Dray Walk, E1, off Brick Lane, will be much larger than Rough Trade’s second store, which opened in Covent Garden underneath Slam City Skates 20 years ago.

Designed into the new store are a coffee bar, a cushioned bench, fluorescent lighting and a snug, which will house workshops and quizzes as well as serve as a place to relax and use the Internet, with listening posts and an impressive sound system. Record crates can be wheeled away for in-store performances, and the store will become a ‘mini venue’.

Rough Trade started trading in 1976 in Notting Hill and in 1978 Rough Trade Records was launched. In 1987, the Covent Garden store, along with Slam City Skates, was opened. Last year, the retailer celebrated its 30th anniversary.

As well as the new east London store, this year saw the revamp of the Notting Hill store.