Say the name Staffhorst in Utrecht, and especially older Utrechters will think back to a big shop full of albums, record players, and other electronics. It was the place to buy all your music for a long time.

For a few years, the store was noticeable for its absence in Utrecht. It went bankrupt in 2013. But now, new life has been blown into it by the original owner’s grandson. Nowadays, it’s no longer in the building in the center of the city, but on the Willem van Noortplein. So there’s a bit less room than before, but this doesn’t make the shop any less sympathetic.

In the limited room, there are lots of boxes full of albums. With well-known artists, but also something for those looking for adventure. There’s even a special box for artists from Utrecht. And there are record players and amplifiers on the counter – just like before, only a bit smaller.

They also travel through the city with some of the albums. A few people from the shop go to various events in Utrecht with a special album bakfiets (cargo bike) to play music. In addition, the shop personnel consists partly of people from the Conservatory – they know what they’re talking about!

Besides selling music, there’s also often live music in the store. There’s a band playing acoustic music almost every Friday. These are often bands from the city of the region of Utrecht. You can see precisely who’s coming to play on the shop’s Facebook page and on their website.

Once you’ve found your favorite album, you can find a good bottle of wine to go with it – there’s also a liquor shop and a wine store in the building. So in fact, you can shop for a great evening in this store.

Contribution by Bas Koppe

Willem van Noortplein 15 | muziekstaffhorst.nl