Needle & Bean, a new record store and coffee shop, is coming soon to Castle Shannon Boulevard.

Owner Michael Butala hopes to have the store up and running in November. He and his wife, Irene, plan to run things by themselves, at first.

Butala is a coffee drinker who has been collecting vinyl records for 15 years.  To him, music and coffee, two things he’s passionate about, go hand in hand.  “Why not try to combine the things you’re passionate about and share it with the community?” he pointed out.

Needle & Bean will carry 3,500 records.  The mix of new and used vinyl will feature mostly alternative, classic rock, jazz and punk. In addition to stocking what’s popular, Butala is also looking to showcase independent artists and smaller bands.

On the beverage side, he’s aiming for a purist type of café, serving espresso, americanos, lattes and drip coffee, along with tea.

Butala finds nostalgia in pouring a good cup of coffee and putting a vinyl album on a turntable that you don’t get with digital streaming. “What I want to offer is an escape, where you can slow things down and cater to people that have a similar perspective,” he said.

Once the store is more established, Butala hopes to work with a variety of nonprofits looking to do fundraisers, along with organizations he and his wife are passionate about.

Butala lives in Sunset Hills, a 12-minute walk from his new store. He hopes to get walk-in traffic from his neighborhood and surrounding streets.

“I expect it to be conducive to people just chatting; people getting together,” he said.