After a few years of living somewhere, a person tends to have their usual go-to spots in the neighborhood, and for me, one of those spots in New York is Village Revival Records on Bleecker Street. I have been collecting vinyl records for about five years, and when I moved to New York, I was keen on finding a place that could keep my collection going. Granted, when I moved to New York, it was the middle of 2020, and few places were open. However, one place that I found myself stumbling into on a cold November afternoon two years ago was none other than Village Revival Records.

I could never forget the first few steps I took into the store that day. My senses were instantly activated. I saw walls of vinyl categorized by genre and artist, could smell the perfectly smoky and earthy scent of the cases that hold the records, and heard the song “Time” by Pink Floyd being played through the store’s speakers. I walked in towards closing time, so I had the whole place to myself until I looked to the very back of the store and saw a man behind the register organizing the store inventory. He looked up and gave me what was probably one of the most genuine smiles I had ever received from a stranger and introduced himself as Jamal, the store’s owner.

Jamal Alnasr’s story starts far away from Manhattan; born in Palestine, Alnasr came to the United States on his own at just the age of 17. His first stop? Bloomington, Indiana. Shocked to hear this, I asked him why Bloomington was his landing spot of choice coming all the way from Palestine, “I grew up watching cowboy movies and thought everything in America was like la la land, but in reality, it was really different. I went to the Indiana University campus and saw it, and after a few days, I was like, ‘I’m leaving,’ then I came straight to New York.”

When Jamal arrived in New York in the early nineties, he found himself walking around the city looking for a job. He wandered into a music shop, asked for a job, and got hired on the spot. The thing the owner of the store did not know at the time? Jamal did not know much about music. “I entered the store and stared looking around and was like, ‘oh my god, how the hell am I going to do this,’ but I was a curious son of a bitch. So I made it my mission to learn everything about music, little bit by little bit.”

Jamal immersed himself in his work at the music shop and absorbed everything he could, “I used to spend all of my salary on buying music magazines, CDs, and concert tickets, and I would study it all.” He got so good at his job that his boss started to increase his responsibilities around the shop, “I started getting really good at my job. I mean, like, really, really good. And I remember after working there for six months, the owner’s wife told me that her husband never took a vacation until I started working there.”

So, after a few years, an ambitious Alnasr decided to go out on his own with his business partner at the time and open his own music shop. This, however, did not come without its challenges. Jamal was so focused on getting his own place that he had some oversight on the actual inventory, “I spent all the money I had to open the place and get custom-made cabinets. And then I realized I had no money left to buy products or even fill the store. So I had to bring my own personal CDs and music memorabilia and sell them in the store. I had no other choice.”

At the time, vinyl records were not all the rage; in fact, CDs were strictly sold in music shops. Jamal clarified that the way music was sold back then is not like it is now, “Vinyl went extinct in the nineties and did not really come back until around 2013. The whole format of the music business has changed completely, actually. It was vinyl in the seventies and eighties, then only CDs in the nineties, then CDs went extinct when music streaming was introduced, and now we are seeing a resurgence in vinyl again.”

After selling his personal music items, Jamal was able to get the store on its feet and order CDs to be put for sale. A few years went by in that location, and Jamal ended up moving into the storefront directly next door to his old spot, where he was able to size up. The store, known as Village Music at the time, was thriving until about 2017, when then the New York economy ran into some hiccups.

Jamal found himself in a low spot, not knowing where to turn next in his business, “I got really depressed. I left New York and went back overseas for the first time in several years. I was away for a few months and really thought to myself, ‘What am I going to do next, I don’t know anything else, I never really worked anywhere else, and I love music,’ so I sold all the property I had overseas from my family and came back to New York and got my store back again, and that’s when I renamed it Village Revival Records because we were revived.”

So Jamal worked his way back to open the shop again, and it was back and better than ever. Then, just a few years later, COVID-19 hit, testing the business once again; however, this time, Jamal said the community came together and supported his business, “I think the pandemic changed the human behavior. People focus more on what is around them and appreciate others and their own lives much more. ”

Jamal is the epitome of perseverance, hard work, and doing what you love, no matter what it takes. I asked Jamal’s advice on persisting through tough times in life and business, “Sometimes you make it, sometimes you don’t, but you can’t give up. Things work out in the end.”

I feel so lucky to have been able to call Jamal a friend over the past few years. He made a seemingly desolate city in 2020 feel like home to me. His welcoming nature, optimism, and passion for what he does make every individual he meets fall in love with him. We conducted this interview over a meal at Minetta Tavern on MacDougal street in Greenwich Village. A place known to be frequented back in the day by some of the greatest thinkers in history, such as Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, and Eugene O’Neill. While there that evening, I could not help but think that Jamal Alnasr fits right in on that list for his tenacity in life and the hearts he has touched.

If you find yourself in New York City, do not miss the opportunity to visit Village Revival Records, located at 197 Bleecker Street, New York, NY, 10012. Not only will you be able to browse an incredible music collection, but you will also be warmly greeted by Jamal. You can follow Jamal and Village Revival Records on Instagram at @villagerevivalrecordsnyc.