THUNDER BAY — Bringing 3,000 to 4,000 records with him every time he opened a pop-up location of The Vinyl Frontier got to be a bit too much for Chris Bernst.
He did a good business selling records, books, and toys at local events such as ThunderCon, the buskers festival and the Westfort Street Fair, but "it seemed like the smart thing to do," he said, to change his business model.
"I'm getting a little older, and I was getting tired of moving it all around, because we were getting up to four or five pop-ups a year."
It's why Bernst and his wife, Misty, have set up shop indoors on Cumberland Street South, next to the Red Lion Smokehouse.
The Vinyl Frontier sells new and used records, and also sells, buys and trades music memorabilia, books, DVDs, cassettes, pop culture collectibles, toys and comics.
The owners call the business Thunder Bay’s vinyl, cassette & pop-culture hub.
It's not the only place in town that sells items such as these, but Bernst said the couple offers other services, such as cleaning and flattening records to help customers restore and preserve their collections.
"To the best of my knowledge, nobody's offering that service in Northern Ontario," he said.
He added that the selection is always changing, mixing hard-to-find imports and brand-new releases, and an entire section that offers affordable classics for under $15.
With the availability of collectible toys and pop culture memorabilia, Bernst said, the shop feels "like a music store and a nostalgia trip rolled into one."
They stay active on social media, where they provide information not just about sales but also tips, tricks and collecting advice which he believes has helped to build a community around music and vinyl culture.
"I guess it's that mix of passion, knowledge and service that hopefully makes us more than just another record store."
The couple started their pop-up in 2022.
Each of them has a full-time job, so for the time being the store is only open Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.
Bernst said they have a varied clientele, about 20 per cent of whom don't even own a record player, but like to acquire records to frame and to hang as pieces of art.
He said these customers tend to be young adults, whereas most clients who buy records to enjoy the music are older.
"The older crowd has a bit more disposable income, because records aren't cheap, you know. In the last few years they've gone up. It's not unheard of to pay $50 for a single record."
Bernst encourages anyone who has records sitting in a closet to bring them down to The Vinyl Frontier so he can look them over.
"We get asked about that a lot, and I'm willing to go to someone's house so they don't have to bring them all down either."
As for the future of the business, he hopes to be open more than three days at some point.
"I've been a big music fan since I was a kid. So it excites me to go in there and run the store. It does not feel like a job to me."
Bernst also plans to continue bringing his wares to local fairs, but likely on a smaller scale than in the past.
