Legendary Columbia record shop Papa Jazz has temporarily relocated. Here’s what to know

A legendary record shop in Columbia’s Five points has temporarily decamped from its longtime location, but is still spinning just a short distance away.

Papa Jazz, which has been at 2014 Greene St. in Five Points for more than four decades, is in the midst of renovations to its space there. As such, it has temporarily moved operations to 747 Saluda Ave., which was formerly home to the Five Points Starbucks. Papa Jazz owner Tim Smith said the record shop is tentatively slated to be at the temporary spot for a couple of weeks.

Back in the early 1990s, a car hit the side of the building at Papa Jazz on Greene Street, Smith said. That led to some unique structural quirks at the shop, and Smith said the time had come to do some repairs.

“Over the last 30 years we’ve had a dip in the floor that has just gotten progressively worse,” Smith said. “Basically we are getting the floor repaired. And, at the same time we are putting new shelving in so we can fit more stuff in and make (the vinyl records and CDs) easier to look through.”

Meanwhile, Papa Jazz has some company in its temporary space on Saluda Avenue. Godspeed, a pop-up coffee operation, also has set up shop there and is serving drinks. Godspeed is owned by Roger Caughman and Kailey Cunningham, each of whom were baristas at nearby Drip for a number of years.

Caughman and Cunningham are engaged to be married, and Caughman said they’ve been circling the concept of starting their own coffee shop for about a year. He said that Richard Burts, who owns the building at 747 Saluda Ave., introduced the idea of Godspeed popping up with Papa Jazz in the record shop’s temporary spot.

“Starting Godspeed as a pop-up style business was the most feasible thing for us,” Caughman said. “We are just really excited to be doing it alongside Papa Jazz. They are so great.”

Caughman said future plans for Godspeed aren’t yet set in stone, but he said the ultimate goal is for the coffee shop to establish a permanent home. For now, the pop-up is offering a host of coffee drinks, including lattes, cappuccinos, “mocktail-inspired” beverages and more.

The renovation of Papa Jazz’s Greene Street space comes at a time when vinyl records have surged in popularity. Revenue from vinyl jumped by 10% in 2023, according to The Washington Post , to $1.4 billion. In regard to physical music formats, vinyl outsold CDs in 2023 for only the second time since 1987.

“Percentage-wise, (vinyl) is probably as popular as it has been since the 1980s,” Smith said. The record shop owner said he thinks vinyl saw a resurgence as a format during the pandemic, when folks were looking for hobbies they could take advantage of at home.

After more than four decades on Greene Street, Smith said Papa Jazz remains committed to Five Points, the longtime shopping and nightlife district just east of the University of South Carolina.

“I’ve been in the same location for 45 years. I’m not going anywhere,” Smith said, with a chuckle.

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