San Antonio’s Friends of Sound open new record shop after being priced out of old location

Beloved San Antonio record shop Friends of Sound has reopened at a new location after being priced out of its former space.

Previously located at 700 Fredericksburg Road, the wax emporium secured a new, larger space just a quarter mile up the street at 823 Fredericksburg. The business started moving after Christmas and turned in the keys on New Year’s Day, co-owner George Mendoza told the Current. The relocated shop held its grand opening Sunday, Jan. 5, though Mendoza said it’s still getting into the groove at its new digs. And after the tumult of the past few months, the dust hasn’t quite settled yet. Get up, get down, get out

Mendoza said Friends of Sound’s change of venue was necessary after a substantial rent increase at the old location.

“I just saw the whole gentrification thing happen right in front of my eyes,” said Mendoza. “It was pretty wild.”

The shop had occupied the corner space of its strip center since 2016, when it began renting from San Antonio visual artist Rolando Briseño, who lived down the street.

“It was an easy relationship,” Mendoza said.

However, in fall of 2023, Briseño sold the building to Houston-based LCP Beacon Hill. The building’s property management company is Centro Properties Group, which manages a number of other downtown-area buildings, including the one housing Folklores Coffee. Last July, Centro notified Friends of Sound that its rent would nearly double.

“They increased the rent to the point we couldn’t afford it,” Mendoza said.

Neighboring Studio E, a recording studio that produced some of San Antonio’s top releases of 2024, was also priced out of the building, and its owner is currently scouting for a new location.

“These things happen and bigger interests come in,” Mendoza added. “We kinda went through the whole thing again that happened to us in Austin.”

No stranger to gentrification
Friends of Sound majority shareholder David Haffner, who now lives in Las Vegas, founded the shop in Austin in 2006. His venture was priced out of its South Congress Street location in 2016, prompting a move to San Antonio. 
Friends of Sound’s battle with gentrification is common refrain among indie record stores, which are already battling competition from streaming services. Austin institution Waterloo Records recently announced plans to relocate and change ownership for similar reasons.

As a silver lining, Friends of Sounds’ most recent displacement allowed it to graduate to a larger space, increasing its footprint to 3,000 square feet from 1,800. The larger space also includes a vintage clothing store called WearHouse, which specializes in ’90s and Y2K fashions.

The new Friends of Sound is positioned across the street from Garcia’s Mexican Food and Wicked Wich, closer to Woodlawn Avenue. As a result, the store is getting more foot traffic than it did further down Fredericksburg, where ongoing construction also bit into sales.

“It’s sad too, because with us being there for such a long time, we had become a part of the community,” said Mendoza, who lives in nearby Beacon Hill.

Even so, it’s time for a new era, and Mendoza says he’s “positive about the future.”

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This article appears in Jan 8-21, 2025.