It’s been hard for “Mom & Pop” record stores to keep afloat in this modern era of iPods and illegal music downloading (or even legal downloading, for that matter!). Hell, it’s been hard for the major chains to keep afloat, as last year’s closing of Tower Records and this year’s closing of several Virgin Records stores made apparent. Even stores like Best Buy are cutting back on their store stock. And the fact that it’s hard for any business to thrive in Michigan’s current economy is a given. Nevertheless, we were extremely unhappy to see that the very popular Record Time store in Ferndale will be closing its doors in the very near future.
Record Time owner Mike Himes opened his first store on May 12, 1983 in East Detroit, Michigan. There have been a variety of locations over the years, but there are currently two Record Time locations – the other store is in Roseville. The Ferndale location opened its doors in 1996. For more than two decades, various Record Time stores have offered one of the best selections of music (with an emphasis on vinyl) from all varieties -- rock, rap, punk, jazz, metal, r&b, reggae, country, etc. – in the city.
Himes plans to keep the Roseville location open and there are even some plans to perhaps expand that store. There is no official closing date for the Ferndale location as of yet. A call to the store today was met with the info that it will be open until “at least the end of March.” So locals have a few more weeks to enjoy the landmark store before it shuts its doors for good. Himes should take pride in the fact that so many people are upset and sad about Record Time’s closing. Several people I talked to act as though they’re losing a good friend. And that’s certainly the mark of major success, no matter how you look at it.
