Iconic Penticton record shop celebrates 30 years in business

Photo: Contributed

LeAnne and Andrew Jakubeit are celebrating 30 years of The Grooveyard, Penticton's iconic downtown record shop.

It's not always easy being a record shop in 2020, but Penticton's iconic store The Grooveyard on Main Street has been growing and adapting for 30 years, maintaining a place in the hearts of locals and visitors alike. 

What started as a music store selling vinyl records has come full circle as LP records become popular again. 

Founder LeAnne Jakubeit remembers the origins of the shop.

“Back in 1987 after being the music department assistant manager at Kelly’s Stereo Mart and when they closed an opportunity came up for me to start my own business," LeAnne said.

“It was a little scary because I was a single mother with two kids and had never ventured out on my own.  I started sub-letting a small space within a stereo shop and after two years moved to my own standalone store.  Being a store within a store was the inspiration for the name – The Grooveyard. I also considered SoundGarden but there was a band by that name starting to get popular.”

Soon, she and her now-husband Andrew Jakubeit, former mayor of Penticton, struck up a partnership in the business. 

Andrew had a music distribution business at the time. Over the years, The Grooveyard would explore wholesale and mail order offerings, but always remained focused on retail. 

“The music industry has changed over the years along with the way people acquire their music; however, nothing replaces having a physical copy of your favourite artist or the natural warm sound of a record," Andrew explained. 

The Grooveyard has called a few different locations home over the years, but it has always been downtown. They currently offer funky novelty and rock merchandise and, of course, music. 

“We’ve been fortunate to have customers that were kids when we started now coming back as adults with kids of their own," LeAnne said, adding how fortunate she feels to be one of the few independent record stores still operating.

"We used to sell a lot online but then moved away from it; however now we have relaunched our website and online presence as that is part of staying relevant into the future," she said. 

“Lots of people enjoy the store when they come in for a visit so hopefully that can transpire into an online experience, as we are more than just a record store."

To celebrate their 30th birthday, The Grooveyard is offering storewide savings of up to 30 per cent throughout the month of September. For more details visit them online here.