By Michael Piwowarski
“It ain’t coming back, it never left!”
Bay City record store Electric Kitsch uses this as the title of their Facebook photo album where they post new store arrivals. These words are quite fitting for the current situation, as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced small businesses left and right to shut their doors until it is safe to reopen.
Although the Electric Kitsch is currently closed to the public, they are finding alternative, creative ways to remain available for cooped up record enthusiasts who want their vinyl fix.
“Customers can pick things up here, curbside, or we can mail purchases,” says owner Jordan Pries. “All of the alternative ways to buy from us have pretty much always been available.”
The Electric Kitsch has maintained a steady social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. They can be messaged on all three platforms with inquiry about a product. They also maintain a storefront on Discogs, which is reserved for rare or unusual finds.
The store’s vinyl record inventory consists of new and used records of many different genres, from rock and blues to jazz and R&B.
Pries also says that he and co-owner Jessica McQuarter are in the store during regular business hours – Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. – to facilitate their online-only operation.
“It’s definitely a scary time as far as small business goes, and in general, but the most important thing is that everyone is safe and well,” says Pries. “We really hope all of our neighbors and fellow business owners are doing okay and getting the assistance they need.”
The store is also taking extra steps to ensure safety for shoppers and prevent the potential spread of the coronavirus.
“We sanitize our iPad after we have to touch it to make a sale; we’re hitting our phone and cell phones with disinfectant a few times a day,” says Pries. “ […] The post office employees have new guidelines when we visit them to mail packages. It has been interesting but we’re glad they are just in the next block from us, for ease of shipping.”
Aside from ordering records, people can also support Electric Kitsch via other means. Gift certificates are available for purchase, and they have partnered with Populace Coffee: customers can purchase a bag of Electric Kitsch branded coffee, as part of their Small Business Support lineup. Half the sale will go to Electric Kitsch while Populace gets the other half.
“We really appreciate the orders we’ve been getting,” says Pries. “We know everything is available online at any time, but when you choose to support us we’re able to keep doing what we love and support other local businesses too.”
One silver lining to the partial closure of the Electric Kitsch: they now have the opportunity to catch up on guitar and amplifier repairs.
“Repair services were extremely busy prior to the current state of business,” says Pries. “It’s allowed [us] to catch up with equipment for repair. We’ve taken a lot of calls about repair, so we’re hopeful it will be busy again once we’re cleared to open again!”
Another thing Electric Kitsch can look forward to, for the time being, is the postponed Record Store Day 2020, which will be held on Saturday, June 20. Their orders for RSD exclusives were already placed before the event got postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so they will have to keep money saved to pay for them once they ship.
“We hope it is Record Store Day as usual by then,” says Pries. “It’s our biggest day of the year and always fun, if not stressful leading up to it. Since it is in June, the weather should be great. We hope to incorporate a big sidewalk sale.”
