The first-ever record store in West Marin is opening on Saturday in Point Reyes Station. Loose Joints Records, next door to the Western, is a venture by musician Dylan Squires and record collector Brian Ojalvo. Their goal is to create a customer-centric outlet for collectors and newbies alike. Their inventory consists of about 1,500 records across the spectrum of price points, genres and time periods, and they plan to keep it fresh. “We really want to engage the customer, find out what they want, what they like, what we think they might like, and make recommendations,” Mr. Ojalvo said. The partners each bring something different to the table. Mr. Ojalvo, 52, owns a boutique wine business in Santa Rosa and has about 8,000 records at his home in Bolinas. He knows record store owners up and down the coast and has been sorting through collections for 20 years. Mr. Squires, 34, works as a financial analyst for Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company and plays drums and guitar in several bands, including the Haggards. Mr. Ojalvo will lead the gathering of inventory, and Mr. Squires will manage the cash flow and analytics. Both have been listening to records since childhood, and they consider themselves audiophiles and perfectionists. They met through mutual friends in Bolinas years ago and bonded over mushroom hunting, fishing and music. They kicked around the idea of a record store for years, then the Woodward Fire spurred them into action. When Bolinas received an evacuation warning, Mr. Ojalvo brought thousands of records to Mr. Squires’s home in Inverness Park. When Inverness Park received an evacuation warning, they once again loaded up the records to haul them back. While doing so, they decided it would be easier to just open a shop and keep records there. Loose Joints Records was born. The name, which has several meanings, is inspired by an avant-garde disco record from the 1980s. Mr. Ojalvo and Mr. Squires scoured rental locations for months, until they heard that Danny Morrissey was closing his barbershop. They called Michelle Pelton, who is managing the bar, and she quickly said yes. She is a fan of the Haggards and her mother, Judy Borello, who owns the bar, is a record collector. The pair signed a lease on April 1 and started gathering an inventory and pricing their products. They called up friends to help build shelves, paint the walls teal, install checkerboard flooring and design a logo. “Everybody is really supportive, and there’s a lot of amazing energy,” Mr. Squires said. Mr. Ojalvo added, “I think they’re craving a place like this.” Records by local musicians will have their own section, and local shoppers will receive a 10 percent discount. The store will offer record cleaning, buy used records and feature artwork for sale on the back wall. They plan to cross-promote events with the Western. The bar’s liquor license covers the record store, so when both are open at the same time, the backdoor will be open so people can mingle between the two. The store will be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Record store opens this weekend next to Western
