After months of silent speakers and empty aisles, one of Long Beach’s favorite record stores is spinning back to life, giving music lovers and vinyl collectors the renewed thrill of flipping through records and rediscovering forgotten favorites.
Long cherished as a cornerstone of the local music scene, Bagatelle Records plans to reopen in April, bringing back thousands of vinyls to be sold at its shop at 260 Atlantic Ave. in downtown Long Beach.
For five decades, the store was a hub for music enthusiasts, offering rare records and guidance to both collectors and casual shoppers. Much of that reputation came from owner Steve Mintz, whose knowledge of vinyl and genuine care for everyone who walked through his doors kept customers coming back.
The store closed its doors when Mintz died late last year, disappointing regulars who had come to depend on it. Now, Mintz’s close friend, a longtime DJ and record collector who goes by the name Mike Vague, has taken over as owner.
After Mintz’s death, he’d been helping clear out the shop and was surprised at people’s reaction to seeing him inside.
“While I was in here cleaning up, people were pounding on the glass, saying, ‘When are you opening? Please open, please open,’” Vague said. “I’m 57 now, not 20. I started talking to people, and they made the transition simple and easy. We cut a deal, and I said, ‘Okay, hold my nose and bite in.’”
While the shop will reopen with the Bagatelle signage still in place, it will operate legally under the new name Mike Vague Records. However, Vague said he is committed to preserving the store’s spirit, in part by keeping prices that longtime customers remember.
“There are probably around just 250,000 records to be sold in the shop,” he said. “That means I’m going to be friendly. I’m not going to gauge if someone is asking $30 for a record. I’ll probably have it for $18. I’m going to keep the price point buyer-friendly.”
Right beside Vague will be Gary Page, an employee of the shop since the 1970s. In that time, Page has seen firsthand how much joy customers took in discovering rare records they sold.
“Record collecting is an amazing hobby and sometimes you have a copy that nobody has and all of a sudden everybody loves it,” Page said. “It’s a part of your history as you’re growing up, you’re listening to that stuff.”
For Page, the shop has always been about more than records; it’s about the culture and history of music. That connection to the past and the community is part of what makes the store’s return so meaningful.
“30 years later, you go back and you want that stuff again. You want to relive the better times that you had,” Page said.
As for Vague, he said he understands the care and attention Mintz brought to every customer at the shop and knows he can’t replicate it. Still, he hopes to honor that example by talking with regulars, tending the records, and welcoming everyone who walks through the door as best he can.
“Steve was a very personable person. He always handed them water and liked to tell stories and listen to people’s stories. I have a little of that in me. I’m not shy,” Vague said.