'Let's Ride The Wave': Kiss The Sky Record Store Thrives Amid Pandemic

BATAVIA, IL — During COVID-19 and shutdowns that ensued, many businesses suffered, some irreparably. But the record business thrived, especially Kiss the Sky in Batavia.

Before the pandemic hit, owner Steve Warrenfeltz had planned to retire in 2020, he told Patch. But when chaos erupted, he lost employees and couldn't find the right time to close his business. A year later, business boomed, "and this all became a lot of fun again," he said.

"I feel fortunate, and it was quite lucky I think," Warrenfeltz said.

Now, the 70-year-old music lover and shop owner's attitude is to keep this going as long as he can.

"I decided, hm, well, let's see how long this lasts and let's go ahead and ride the wave," he said. "My attitude is I'm just going to keep this going as long as I possibly can."

Next up on the docket for Kiss the Sky, located at 180 First St. in historic downtown Batavia, is Record Store Day on Saturday. The national holiday has celebrated "the culture of the independently owned record store" by bringing together fans, artists and businesses around the world for the past 15 years, according to the organization.

"We're anticipating that there's going to be a very strong interest because this is the first day of going back to a single day [event]," Warrenfeltz said. "Taylor Swift [is] the ambassador for this year's Record Store Day ... releasing a limited, 7-inch single has generated a lot of interest, especially among young people."

On Record Store Day, Warrenfeltz operates by opening a virtual line lottery/drawing where patrons can enter to be given a spot in line. On Record Store Day, the store will open at 8 a.m., and the lottery winners — there were 100 this year — will be the first to shop.

Once the last person who participated in the lottery enters, doors will open for the general public. The store owner expects this to be around 9:30 a.m.

For those looking to snag the limited Taylor Swift release, it won't be for sale in the traditional sense at Kiss the Sky. Instead, to give shoppers a fair chance, Warrenfeltz will hold a drawing at 2 p.m. Saturday. The winner will then have until 6 p.m. Sunday to purchase the record.

People looking to expand their record collection or check out new music can certainly find something worthwhile at Kiss the Sky. One record Warrenfeltz recommends is a live recording by Rory Gallagher, a "tremendous guitar player." For those who are fans of Eric Clapton, Luther Allison and similar artists, "this would be a great introduction."

In previous years, Warrenfeltz said Record Store Day has brought in the most revenue for the business, "so much so that in some cases it's bigger than some of the months we experience during the year."

"In 2021, we experienced significant growth in our business largely because of younger people having to stay at home and having the opportunity to discover their parents' stereo systems and record collections and CD collections and finding a new way to listen to music," he said. "A lot of the young people embraced that."

As a result, Kiss the Sky sold more turntables in 2021 than in the prior three years. The owner credits this success partially to Record Store Day and to the pandemic's impact on "the way young people, and even the adults, were starting to listen to music again by way of the vinyl record."

There might have been a time when record stores were falling by the wayside or deemed "a dying breed." To Warrenfeltz, "that title should be put on a shelf for now and maybe bestowed upon someone down the line if that ever happens."

"Vinyl records ... is the only audio format that has been around for 100-plus years," he continued. "It's significant, it's important and it isn't going away."