Hexagon Records opens as the only devoted vinyl shop in Petoskey

There’s a new record store in downtown Petoskey. It’s called Hexagon Records and it’s one of the few places in northern Michigan devoted to selling vinyl.

Michael Griggs has two record players connected to some old speakers that he found at a garage sale.

His store is on Howard Street in Petoskey. It’s up stairs in a 700-square-foot space. Inside there’s a stuffed raccoon mounted to the wall, framed posters of the 70s sci-fi classic ‘Solaris,’ and tons and tons of records.

Between his personal collection, what he has in storage, and what he sells at the shop – it all totals around 20,000 vinyls.

One of his favorite sections is called “Difficult Concepts.”

“Some of it’s like, you know, kind of like that, the new music, kind of the new classical music, like Stockhausen and stuff like that,” Griggs said. “And, you know, there’s some unusual like this, this extremely bizarre record from Hungary.”

There’s some newer artists on display too. Sealed LPs from Beyonce, Chappell Roan and Tyler, the Creator are next to classic artists like Yes!, The Smiths and The Smashing Pumpkins.

Records are priced anywhere from $5 dollars to $150 dollars.The rarest is an album by the ‘60s psychedelic band Maze.

“I think there’s a fairly decent chance that I own one of the best copies of it in existence,” he said. “Yes, so I think that record is probably worth in the, maybe the $1,000 range?”

Griggs is 51. He opened in June after he was laid off from a corporate job in the health care industry. He worked at record stores in the ‘90s and owning one has always been a dream of his. Griggs said getting laid off was good news.

“This doesn’t feel like work and the buying, cleaning and cataloging of records, definitely scratches some sort of OCD itch in me,” he said. “I think it’s good for me, mental health wise, kind of to be kind of immersed in something that I can kind of give myself over to.”

Griggs is sharing his passion with people of all generations. He said his customer base trends younger, but during our conversation, an older couple came in with some sealed records they were looking to sell. Everything from Perry Como to Harry Belafonte. But unfortunately:

“These really aren’t worth anything,” Griggs said. “Age doesn’t really mean anything to record value. It is interesting that these are still sealed. That said it would be very difficult for me to sell most of these.”

Griggs said they would fare better selling them online and offered to help do that.

Soon after the couple left, Ryan Cassidy, a younger musician from Petoskey came in. He’s a singer-songwriter inspired by alternative rock from the ‘90s and The Beatles. His CD is for sale at Hexagon. Cassidy said it’s a huge deal to have a record shop in Petoskey.

“Because we used to have to travel to Traverse City,” he said. “That’s the closest thing that we had, so to have something here right downtown, it’s huge. We needed it, there’s a big clientele for it, that’s for sure. It’s coming back, big time.”

Griggs wants more local musicians to sell their music at his shop. He gives all the money back to the artist. So for Cassidy, it could be 10 bucks in his pocket, but today it’s store credit for some Alice Cooper.

According to Billboard.com 2023 was the 18th straight year for growth in record sales. Vinyl albums sold in the U.S. nearly totaled 50 million. Griggs said there is an appetite for tangible media amid the plethora of streaming services.

“Streamed music is just really ephemeral. And the physicality to physical media is, like, there’s something that obviously does something for people,” he said. “And it’s not just a generational thing. And part of it is the, you know, just the design and art of album covers, that sort of thing.”

Griggs has also noticed people buying more what he calls “zombie media” – things like cassettes and VHS tapes. He might carry those some day as well.

Griggs said he has repeat customers and his sales are consistent. His approach to the business is pragmatic, but he’s been waiting to give this a shot for a long time.

“I’m under no delusion that I’m going to make, you know, become a millionaire doing this,” he said. “But I all I want is just to make enough money to live off of because it’s such a fun business to be a part of. Being able to talk to people all day about music is, you know, really fun.”

Griggs has other plans in the works, too. He’ll be hosting live music nights at Malted Vinyl, a cocktail bar in Petoskey where people can play vinyl. And eventually, he’ll have his own listening station at Hexagon so curious customers can try out some of the records.

Interlochen Public Radio is part of the Michigan Public Radio Network. To read more stories from IPR, visit interlochenpublicradio.org.