{"id":88523,"date":"2026-03-24T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/?p=88523"},"modified":"2026-03-23T20:31:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T03:31:06","slug":"bagatelle-records-closed-steve-mintz-reopening-long-beach-vinyl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/eat-see-do-2\/see\/bagatelle-records-closed-steve-mintz-reopening-long-beach-vinyl","title":{"rendered":"Bagatelle Records closed suddenly after 50 years. Now it will reopen under new ownership."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After months of silent speakers and empty aisles, one of Long Beach\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The store closed its doors when Mintz died late last year, disappointing regulars who had come to depend on it. Now, Mintz\u2019s close friend, a longtime DJ and record collector who goes by the name Mike Vague, has taken over as owner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

After Mintz\u2019s death, he\u2019d been helping clear out the shop and was surprised at people\u2019s reaction to seeing him inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile I was in here cleaning up, people were pounding on the glass, saying, \u2018When are you opening? Please open, please open,\u2019\u201d Vague said. \u201cI\u2019m 57 now, not 20. I started talking to people, and they made the transition simple and easy. We cut a deal, and I said, \u2018Okay, hold my nose and bite in.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s spirit, in part by keeping prices that longtime customers remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are probably around just 250,000 records to be sold in the shop,\u201d he said. \u201cThat means I\u2019m going to be friendly. I\u2019m not going to gauge if someone is asking $30 for a record. I\u2019ll probably have it for $18. I\u2019m going to keep the price point buyer-friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Michael Vegh holds up a Maxwell album in Long Beach on Monday, March 10, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRecord collecting is an amazing hobby and sometimes you have a copy that nobody has and all of a sudden everybody loves it,\u201d Page said. \u201cIt\u2019s a part of your history as you\u2019re growing up, you\u2019re listening to that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Page, the shop has always been about more than records; it\u2019s about the culture and history of music. That connection to the past and the community is part of what makes the store\u2019s return so meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c30 years later, you go back and you want that stuff again. You want to relive the better times that you had,\u201d Page said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Gary Page helps to sort and clean stacks of vinyl records in Long Beach on Monday, March 10, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As for Vague, he said he understands the care and attention Mintz brought to every customer at the shop and knows he can\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSteve was a very personable person. He always handed them water and liked to tell stories and listen to people\u2019s stories. I have a little of that in me. I’m not shy,\u201d Vague said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The vinyl collectors institution closed last fall with owner Steve Mintz\u2019s passing. It was missed so much that would-be customers sometimes banged on the windows, hoping they could get back in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":88456,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"The vinyl collectors institution closed last fall with owner Steve Mintz\u2019s passing. It was missed so much that would-be customers sometimes banged on the windows, hoping they could get back in.\n","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32366],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32359],"class_list":["post-88523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-see","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88523"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88525,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88523\/revisions\/88525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88523"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=88523"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=88523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}