Garageland gets out of the vintage and vinyl business

He’s keeping the canoe.

But the vinyl’s got to go.

Garageland, the restaurant-slash-bar-slash-antique-slash-record store in downtown Spokane, is getting out of the record business. That means all vinyl is 20 percent off. And prices will likely drop again next week.

“I’m cleaning it out,” owner JJ Wandler said.

It’s not just the records – from Soundgarden, White Stripes, Nirvana, Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, Beastie Boys – that are marked down, either. Antique furniture, vintage clothing and other gently used kitschy items are also in the mix.

That’s because the multipurpose business where you can drink a beer or enjoy a cocktail while you shop is going to narrow its focus to the restaurant and lounge.

Wandler, who owns Garageland with his wife, Mindy, is in the process of selling not just the inventory but the entire business. The records and vintage pieces aren’t part of that sale. Wandler’s hoping the vinyl and vintage items clear out within three to four weeks.

His four-in-one stop shop, named for the 1977 song by The Clash – “Garageland” is the final track of the band’s self-titled debut album – opened two years ago with a couple thousand records from Wandler’s personal collection. That was about one-third of his own inventory, which he said he’s since replaced – and then some.

Garageland’s stock has turned over too many times to count. The business specializes in punk, rock, alternative rock, jazz and blues records, which run from about $4 to $200, even $450 for a rarer find. Wandler estimates the store has about $100,000 worth of vinyl inventory; even at 20 percent off that’s about $80,000 if it all sells.

Wandler still loves records and plans to keep collecting. In fact, “I stopped at (Spokane record store) 4,000 Holes today. I always have to step in there and see if he has anything I don’t have.”

A recent health concern prompted him to get out of the business. “I had a health scare, and it turned out to be nothing,” Wandler, 46, said.

He suffered from shingles, a viral infection that causes a rash and can be super painful. “It was viscious,” Wandler said. And, “it’s stress-related.

“It was just one of those things that had it not happened nothing in my life would have changed. Every once in awhile you get this epiphany and you change things.”

Wandler changed things in 2015 when he moved back to Spokane after 17 years in Sequim and Seattle, where he owns a French-themed eatery and lounge. Gainsbourg, in the Greenwood neighborhood, is named for the late French singer and songwriter Serge Gainsbourg.

Wandler plans to keep that restaurant and continue traveling to Seattle once a month to check on operations.

More than a year ago, he bought out a founding partner in Garageland and now owns the business with his wife. Now, he’s hoping to spend more time with her and their children, ages 2 and 4.

He’s also hoping to spend more time working on a screenplay that he started about three years ago. “I have an English degree,” he said. “I never use it. The only time I use it is to edit menus.”

Popular menu items at Garageland are the burgers and totchos, or Tater tot nachos. While it’s scaled back its absinthe offerings, it remains one of the few – if only – establishments around the Inland Northwest that offers absinthe service with an absinthe fountain.

For the next few weeks – and into the transition – customers will likely still find him at Garagelend. But not the big dug-out canoe Wandler hung above the bar.

He bought it at an estate sale on Spokane’s South Hill. And he’s taking it with him when he goes.

Garageland is at 230 W. Riverside Ave. Call (509) 315-8324. Hours are 4 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday.