Asheville's Citizen Vinyl Moves to Weaverville and Doubles Down on Vinyl Production

Photo by Peter Kasprzyk on Unsplash

By Jon Tharp, Broker  ·  May 26, 2026

Citizen Vinyl has moved out of downtown Asheville, and the reason is simple: they needed more room to press more records.

The company, founded by Gar Ragland in 2020 as North Carolina's first vinyl pressing plant, relocated this spring to a new facility at 179 Merrimon Avenue in Weaverville. The move came with a significant upgrade in production capacity after Citizen Vinyl acquired the vinyl pressing equipment from Donaldson Record Pressing, which had been operating out of the same space. That acquisition added two presses to Citizen Vinyl's floor, cutting turnaround times and increasing the volume of records the plant can produce.

The timing fits where the industry is. US vinyl record sales reached $1 billion in 2025, and have grown year-over-year for more than two decades. What started as a niche revival has turned into a sustained shift in how people buy and listen to music. Pressing plants are in demand. Citizen Vinyl built early on the right side of that trend.

Alongside the relocation, the company announced five executive hires that build out a leadership team well beyond its original startup structure. Lauren Rash joins as Chief Manufacturing Officer, bringing Six Sigma Black Belt credentials and a background at GE Aerospace and Thermo Fisher Scientific. Audra Gaiziunas steps in as Chief Financial Officer after years as a small-business financial specialist at Mountain Bizworks here in WNC. John Lenac, who spent his career building the digital side of the music industry at Yahoo! Music and PledgeMusic, comes on as Chief Strategy Officer. Brent Manning, co-founder of Riverbend Malt House, takes the VP of Sales and Marketing role. Scott Crane, a branding veteran in the music industry, leads brand and partnership strategy as Chief Brand Officer.

That is a substantial bench for a company still in its first decade. The hires signal that Citizen Vinyl is building for scale, not just managing steady operations.

One of the more interesting pieces of the announcement is the mention of upcoming partnerships centered around the company's vinylkey technology. Citizen Vinyl is the world's exclusive manufacturer of NFC-embedded vinyl records, a format that links physical media to digital content through a chip pressed directly into the record. Tapping it with a smartphone can unlock audio, video, or exclusive content tied to that specific release. In a music industry built around streaming, that kind of physical-digital bridge is a real differentiator.

Weaverville sits about eight miles north of downtown Asheville, close enough to stay connected to the regional music community that helped put Citizen Vinyl on the map. The original Asheville location included a cafe and retail shop alongside the pressing floor, which made the company feel accessible to casual visitors. What the Weaverville facility will offer the public has not yet been announced, but the company has been open about the move and its intentions.

For Western NC, having a nationally recognized manufacturing operation growing here matters. It is the kind of business that attracts artists, labels, and music industry attention, and it is run by people who are clearly thinking about how to build something that lasts.

If you are curious what it looks like to build a creative business in this part of the mountains, Citizen Vinyl is worth paying attention to. If you are thinking about making the move yourself, Jon Tharp knows this corner of North Carolina well.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Citizen Vinyl located now?

Citizen Vinyl recently relocated from its original downtown Asheville location to a new manufacturing facility at 179 Merrimon Ave in Weaverville, NC, just north of Asheville. The move was made to expand production capacity and consolidate operations into a more efficient space. The company opened in downtown Asheville in 2020 as North Carolina's first vinyl record pressing plant and has grown into a nationally recognized operation serving artists and record labels across the country.

What is vinylkey technology?

Vinylkey is a proprietary technology developed by Citizen Vinyl that embeds NFC chips into vinyl records. When a listener taps the record with a smartphone or NFC-enabled device, it triggers digital content, including exclusive audio, video, liner notes, or interactive experiences tied to that specific release. Citizen Vinyl is the world's exclusive manufacturer of NFC-embedded vinyl records using this technology. It represents one of the ways the company is bridging the gap between the tactile appeal of physical media and the connectivity of digital platforms.

Why are vinyl record sales still growing?

Vinyl record sales have grown year-over-year for more than 20 consecutive years, reaching $1 billion in US revenue in 2025. The resurgence is driven by audiophile interest in analog sound quality, the collector appeal of physical media, artist-driven limited releases, and a cultural reaction against purely streaming-based music consumption. Vinyl has become a meaningful part of the music industry again rather than a niche format, which is why pressing plants like Citizen Vinyl are expanding capacity rather than contracting.

Can you tour Citizen Vinyl?

Citizen Vinyl previously offered tours and a retail and cafe experience at its original downtown Asheville location. With the move to Weaverville, the company has not yet announced what public-facing experiences will be available at the new facility. Check citizenvinyl.com for updates on tours, events, or retail access at the new location. The Weaverville facility is a working manufacturing plant, so access may be more limited than the original downtown storefront.