Atlanta’s long-playing music retailer Darryl Harris, outside his new shop on Mitchell StreetPhotograph by Growl Bros. A new record store has opened in the heart of downtown Atlanta. CratesATL, on Mitchell Street’s Historic Hotel Row, opened its doors this past spring, adding a new rhythm to the area’s growing mix of local businesses. The shop joins a wave of revitalization efforts reshaping South Downtown, bringing music, culture, and community to one of the city’s most storied streets. CratesATL is a new offering from Darryl Harris, owner of Moods Music in Little Five Points. For 25 years, Moods has anchored Atlanta’s Black music scene. It’s a shop where crate diggers and casual listeners alike can lose hours flipping through stacks of neo-soul, hip-hop, gospel, hard bop, and acid jazz CDs and LPs. “I wanted to be a part of revitalizing downtown and everything that it’s going to become,” Harris says. And he means it. Hotel Row has seen a surge of new life thanks to the South Downtown redevelopment project from entrepreneurs David Cummings and Jon Birdsong, who have reimagined the street with fresh destinations such as Spiller Park Coffee, Tyde Tate Kitchen, and Village Books, with the promise of more to come. CratesATL is the next verse in Harris’s ongoing love letter to music. The space is vibrant, full of warm color and texture. The record bins are filled with new and used vinyl, surrounded by lush plants, collectible music-related action figures, and sleek turntables and speakers. Every vinyl rack reveals something new: Blue Note jazz LPs, soul deep cuts, gospel rarities, RB gems, essential hip-hop records, and even some choice rock LPs. The crates are filled with everything from serious Georgia avant-garde albums from Marion Brown and Doug and Jean Carn to staples by Sade, Miles Davis, and Earl Sweatshirt. (A trigger warning for organizational sticklers: Artists are filed alphabetically by their first name.) The shop also serves as a cultural hub where music, art, and conversation blend. The energy recalls the early days of Moods Music, when Harris first carved out a niche in a neighborhood better known for punk and streetwear. But where Moods has always been about a refined and curated listening experience, Crates seems raw and immediate—a direct connection to the beat of the city itself. “I never wanted to open a second record store because I was afraid it would split my customers,” Harris says. “What I have found, though, is exactly the opposite. Since opening the new shop downtown, I have met so many new customers and met so many new people that are just discovering both stores that it feels like a recharge. It’s opening new doors every day.” That sense of renewal is at the core of CratesATL. The shop has already become a Sunday ritual for many, thanks to Soulful Sundays: Every other weekend, local DJs set up in the shop and spin deep house cuts and neo-soul, creating a space where music and community blur into one continuous groove. More events are in the works, including DJ workshops, a live music series (similar to NPR’s Tiny Desk concerts), a kid-friendly movie day, and an adults-oriented movie night, as well as tutorial sessions during which people can learn the subtle nuances of sound. Standing on Mitchell Street, surrounded by the hum of South Downtown’s rebirth, CratesATL is like a bridge connecting Atlanta’s past to its ever-evolving creative future. For Harris, it’s more than a record store; it’s a reflection of the city itself—soulful, diverse, and always in motion. This article appears in our December 2025 issue. The post CratesATL spins new life into South Downtown appeared first on Atlanta Magazine. ...read more read less