Vinyl collectors can now add a D.C. restaurant to their list of places to go crate-digging. Cool Kids Vinyl, a new record store, has taken over the second floor of Maketto, Chef Erik Bruner-Yang’s food/coffeeshop/retail spot on H Street.

The shop, which launched Sept. 1, is the brainchild of 28-year-old Matthew Talley, a creative marketing specialist from Southeast D.C. Five years ago, Talley started Digging Thru The Crates, a series of pop-up events hosted with D.C. legend DJ Alizay and featuring guests like rapper Biz Markie and producer 9th Wonder. The concept gave attendees a chance to dig through crates of vinyls, pick one, and hand it to the DJ to spin for the party.

Talley has long wanted to take that energy and put it into a brick-and-mortar business, but the coronavirus pandemic complicated his plans to rent out a space in Southwest. Talley, who works as a daytime manager at Maketto, said his boss was looking to shake things up a bit for when the restaurant reopened indoor dining this month.

“Erik was like, ‘Hey, why don’t you just do it upstairs, man?’ It’ll, in a way, re-garner that community that used to come to Maketto,'” Talley says. “The records kind of compliment those people.”

The shop features a collection of hip-hop and rap, R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock, along with vintage copies of comic books and magazines like Ebony, XXL, and Vibe. The whole collection is featured online for customers who don’t want to visit the store in person.

Talley has bounced around between a number of creative projects in the region over the years. He was a social media intern for D.C. rapper Wale, and started the DMV Followers social media brand 10 years ago (along with a sister blog in Georgia). He even authored a children’s book about an adventurous young Black boy who battles his fears and insecurities in his dreams.

“If you’re young and you’re Black and you live in D.C., you have to do a lot of things to stay where we are. It’s so expensive to live in this city and to go out in this city,” he says. “I’ve been in and out of that creative, Black community in D.C. for the past 10 years.”

He has his hands in a lot of things, but with a love of vinyls and cassette tapes, record stores have always been where Talley finds inspiration.

“I’m the type of guy to still go to yard sales, looking for records,” he says.

In the minimalist Cool Kids space, records spin on turntables and VHS tapes play on an old, boxy TV set. On the same floor, there’s a lounge area where people can order coffee or a cocktail and sit (six feet apart), Talley says. Maketto, known for its Taiwanese and Cambodian dishes, is booking reservations at half capacity indoors and on its outdoor patio.

Down the line, once COVID restrictions lift, Talley has plans for a grand opening event, and imagines the shop being host to events like an after-hours version of NPR Music’s Tiny Desk, live podcast events, and more.

“Of course, because of the pandemic, we’re still trying to follow the rules and follow the law,” he says, “but we definitely have a plan for programming at the record shop and Maketto.”

Cool Kids Vinyl is located at 1351 H St NE. Open daily 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.