A beloved Virginia Beach institution lives on in digital age — and enjoys vinyl’s rebirth

BY JIM ROBERTS

KEMPSVILLE — Virginia Beach residents have seen a lot of record stores come and go over the years.

There was Mother’s Record & Tape Co. at Pembroke Mall, Planet Music and FYE at Columbus Village, Tracks at Loehmann’s Plaza—even a Coconuts at KempsRiver Crossing.

But only Birdland Music—a small, independent business nestled in a corner of the Providence Square Shopping Center for 45 years—has stood the test of time.

Barry Friedman, the store’s owner, attributes its success to “luck, luck and luck.”

Turning serious, he added: “Perseverance. Not giving up. Trying to have a good product and being nice to the public—trying to make relationships.”

It’s a lesson he learned from his father, who bought the store in 1969, when it was located on Church Street in Norfolk. Friedman started working there a year later—when he was a student at Princess Anne High School.

“We just went out of our way to be personable and strike up relationships and get to know our customers,” he said. “I have this knack that if you come in once or twice and I spend a couple minutes with you and I see what you buy, not only would I remember what you bought, but I would know to recommend a certain type of music to you the next time. And people like that.”

In 1978, the Friedmans moved Birdland from Norfolk to Providence Square, then a brand-new shopping center in Kempsville.

“Kempsville from Indian River on was still farmland,” Friedman said. “None of those neighborhoods were there. Providence Road was still undeveloped going toward Military Highway. Kempsville Road was a two-lane road. The shopping center opened and wasn’t even paved.”

The location has been critical to Birdland’s success.

“We’ve had real estate people try to entice us to come back to Norfolk or go to Chesapeake or open up a store at the Oceanfront,” Friedman said. “But I think in Kempsville, all roads point to Birdland. We’re in the middle of everywhere.”

Truth be told, business in the new location got off to a very slow start.

“That first Friday, we took in $25,” Friedman said. “I’ll never forget it. And Saturday, I think we took in $26. … It was really, really tough going.”

There were several turning points.

First was a feature story in The Virginian-Pilot.

“I’m telling you, within a week Birdland was on the map,” Friedman said. “My phone started ringing off the hook. … Fred Kirsch [the reporter] is the reason that we’re still in business. We got discovered because of that article.”

Second was the compact disc business that started to boom in the late 1980s.

“We were literally on the ground floor of it,” Friedman said. “We were in the right place at the right time. Remember, there was no Best Buy. There was no Circuit City. There was no Walmart. There was no downloading. People wanted CDs, and our whole thing was always about variety.”

Third is the resurgence of vinyl.

“We never thought vinyl would make this comeback,” said Bobby Friedman, the youngest of Barry’s three brothers, who works part-time at the store. “We never saw this coming. It shocked all of us. I can remember as recently as 20 years ago, we had hundreds, hundreds of albums in our store. … We might have sold a dozen a year. And it slowly, slowly started coming back. But now it’s a steamroller. … And it’s bigger than CDs.”

Chuck Fentress started shopping at Birdland after reading the article in The Pilot in 1983. “The article came out,” he said, “and Barry’s quote was, ‘Yes, and we have Gene Pitney.’ I never had a Gene Pitney album, so I went up there and bought it.”

Fentress now owns thousands of albums and singles—about 95 percent of them procured from Birdland.

“Him and I have got a friendship,” Fentress said of Friedman. “It’s not uncommon for me to go up there and spend an hour with him — just to sit up there and talk. … I can’t say enough good things about him. I’m able to go in there and talk to him about anything. And then, of course, he keeps me abreast of what’s going on and what’s new.”

Bobby Friedman confirmed that there’s more to Birdland than selling music. 

“I hate to sound trite about it,” he said, “but we’re more than just a record store. We’re a hangout.”

Almost like a barbershop?

Fentress agreed. 

“Except that the haircut’s a little more expensive.”

Mike Cooke, a music lover who grew up in Kempsville, shopped at the original Birdland Music in Norfolk. 

He opened his own record store, Electric Smiles, in the 1980s, but he said he was never in competition with Birdland Music.

“That was the cool thing about me and Barry,” Cooke said. “I sent him business, and he did the exact same thing to me because I was the only guy that was selling imports.”

Cooke said he respects Friedman’s perseverance.

“He can’t help it,” Cooke said. “It’s in his blood. He’s always been a fixture in that area. Plus the fact that he kept his head down, and he kept going forward, and he rode out the bad times in the record business, and he’s survived.”

So how much longer can Friedman keep it going?

“Maybe another couple of weeks,” he joked. 

“You know,” he added, “I like to say: As long as I can physically be on my feet, and as long as people want to come in the door, we’ll keep the doors open.”

Birdland Music is located at 951 Providence Road—near the Kroger supermarket. Visit birdlandmusic.com or call (757) 495-0961 for more information.

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