Tomorrow: Rooky Ricardo's Records Hosting Relocation Celebration

Tomorrow: Rooky Ricardo's Records Hosting Relocation CelebrationRooky Ricardo's Records' new temporary location, across the street. (Photo: Nuala Sawyer/Hoodline)
Nuala Sawyer
Published on April 28, 2016

A special celebration is taking place in the Lower Haight this Friday evening, to honor the 30 years that Rooky Ricardo's Records has resided at 448 Haight Street. Owner Dick Vivian isn't giving up the shop—far from it—but he is moving his hundreds of records across the street while his original shop undergoes an earthquake retrofit. He'll return to his original location in four to eight months, once the renovations are complete. 

As of Friday morning, the original Rooky Ricardo's will be completely emptied, with its records, framed posters and listening stations moving across the street to 419 Haight St. "It's the end of Rooky's as we know it," said Selena Donovan, a partner at Maven who is helping Vivian with the soirée. 

The old Rooky Ricardo's space, which will be emptied out for the party. (Photo: Stephen Jackson/Hoodline)

But having access to an empty record store for a night was a prospect too tempting to resist, so fellow business owners, musicians and neighborhood residents are gathering together to celebrate the longtime shop's tenure.

Food will be provided for free by Wing Wings, and Nicki from Two Jack's Nik's Place will be bringing over some of her tasty grub. A neighbor and caterer who lives next door to the record shop will also be donating some food.

Friday's party won't just be a chance to say goodbye to the old Rooky Ricardo's as we know it—it'll also be an opportunity to get a sneak peek at the cocktails from new bar venture The Pan American, which is currently doing pop-ups as it hunts for a permanent location. Two unique cocktails will be available for $8 each, including a twist on the daiquiri, featuring light rum, lime juice, grapefruit juice and banana liqueur. 

Influenced by Havana nightlife, The Pan American is the brainchild of Maven's Donovan and Adam Delaney, the former bar manager of Tradition. They're seeking to create a union of American and Cuban culture; the slogan of their bar is "a plane ticket and a time machine for the price of a cocktail."

The time-machine concept will complement the evening nicely, as old 45s will be played throughout the evening, and you bet there will be dancing. Fun fact: the wooden floor of the soon-to-be-renovated Rooky Ricardo's was pulled from an old dance studio in the 1980s, so it's slightly bouncy and made for stomping feet.

The whole shebang will kick off at 6pm, and run until 11pm. We'll see you there.