Longtime Evanston resident Greg Allen said he has dreamed of owning a record store all his life. Last month, his dream became a reality.
Animal Records, located at 624 Grove St., opened Sept. 30.
The store’s wares consist of records from Allen’s own extensive collection, turntables and record players. The store will also buy record collections for cash or store credit.
“I’ve always been a record collector my whole life,” Allen said. “But I’m not gonna be alive forever, so what’s the point of just keeping all this crap in my house?”
Allen said he bought his first record when he was 12. This year, he is 55.
He’s finally ready to open his own record store since his youngest child just started college, he said.
He added that many parts of the store are still a work in progress because he had to move and catalog his “colossal” collection out of his home. But he wanted customers to see the store anyway, he said.
“It was really refreshing and exciting,” said Evanston resident Tyler Knapp, who visited the store Saturday. “The vibe is great. I found a lot of old-school stuff that I never would find anywhere.”
In the coming months, Allen said he has plans to establish Animal Records as a “cultural landmark” in the city. He hopes to host live music events in the space behind his store, which looks like a place “right out of Sesame Street,” he said.
Animal Records’ name comes from Allen’s love for animals. He said he loves to adopt rescue dogs and hopes to eventually host dog rescues at the store for community events.
Several of the record bins in Animal Records came from 2nd Hand Tunes, which closed in 2013, Audio Consultants, which closed in 2019, and Dave’s Records, which closed in 2023.
“All these stores from days gone by, it’s kind of like I patched together a lot of them,” Allen said.
Allen says he hopes to carry on part of their legacy, creating an inclusive space where people of different ages and different music tastes can come together and hang out.
There are two other record stores in Evanston: Vintage Vinyl and Squeezebox Books and Music. Vintage Vinyl specializes in expensive collectible records, and Allen plans for Animal Records to occupy a different niche, he said.
“I want to be a place where even people who are just casually into music can still find a $2 record,” Allen said. “Make it inviting, make it fun.”
Weinberg third-year Tim Li is one of those people. Li just started record collecting as a hobby.
But, he was discouraged by the high prices at other record stores he visited, he said. That’s why he was thrilled by Animal Records.
“I’m not paying, like, 90 bucks for a single record,” Li said. “Here, they’re so reasonably priced.”
Allen said he plans to hold an official grand opening from Oct. 18-20.
“Soon, the store is going to be so jam-packed with records you won’t even be able to walk through here,” Allen said.
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