Audiophil's Records Opens In Downtown Joliet

JOLIET, IL - A previously empty storefront along East Van Buren Street is now home to a one-of-a-kind downtown Joliet business. It's a vinyl records store. Audiophil's has opened inside the historic Rialto building, but over toward St. Anthony's Catholic Church. Located at 17 E. Van Buren, Audiophil's will have its grand opening event at noon Saturday. If you collect vinyl records or intent to sell off the vinyl records in your basement or attic, Audiophil's wants to hear from you.

The new store carries a wide variety of albums including U2, Van Halen, The Beatles, Metallica, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Johnny Cash, Iron Maiden and of course, Peter Frampton. There's also an album autographed by Everclear, one of the bands that took the stage last weekend at downtown Joliet's first-ever Rock The Block, an event that also featured Local H and Marcy Playground.

Right now, the hottest album in Audiophil's is a rare record from Prince.

"It's pretty pricey. It's in the three digits," said Tiffany Johnson, who runs the record store with her husband.

Johnson estimated Audiophil's currently has about 4,000 records.

And new records arrive practically every day.

Johnson said her family lives near Joliet's Haunted Trails Family Entertainment Center on Broadway and they came across the empty downtown storefront a couple months ago. Both the Rialto and city of Joliet were terrific in terms of helping her and husband accomplish their dream of bringing a unique business to downtown, she said.

Johnson said she loves what's been happening around downtown Joliet with the recent additions of the microbreweries, MyGrain Brewing Company and Elder Brewing, as well as all the festivals bringing more foot traffic to downtown on the weekends than ever before.

Audiophil's is open 4 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday from noon to 8 p..m. The store is currently open Sundays, trying that out, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Generally, most records range from $8.99 to $15, Johnson said. However, Audiophil's also has a "99 cent budget bin."

Why open a record shop in Joliet, Illinois?

"It's such a beautiful little city," Johnson said. "It's actually a vibrant growing area."

She emphasized there's plenty of street parking, plus parking is free on evenings and weekends.

Johnson said one of the biggest hurdles involves public perception.

It's convincing potential customers that downtown Joliet is extremely safe.

She said she has no idea why some people continue to spread false rumors on Facebook and social media suggesting the downtown is dangerous.

"I feel just as safe here as I do in my own front yard," she said.

Patch asked Johnson to sum up her main message for prospective customers.

"We're family owned and family run. We buy records. We pay cash. We're open to any and all new music. We just want everyone to know we're here. We're surrounded by good food and good music. This area is vibrant and good things are happening."

All images via John Ferak/Joliet Patch Editor