Antique Vault & Records

Antique Vault & Records is a one-person shop in the historic Crown Point Courthouse, specializing in records and physical music media across formats. The interview follows the owner’s collecting instincts, buying approach, and the unusual stories that arrive through the door.

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Interview with Antique Vault & Records

Antique Vault & Records is inside the old Crown Point Courthouse -- a genuinely unusual space for a record shop. What's the story of ending up there, and does the building itself shape how the shop feels day to day?

I hadn’t visited Crown Point in many years, but I stopped by one day just to check out the downtown area. I started looking into the retail opportunities around here, and I landed right in the old Crown Point Courthouse. The old brick was the perfect blank canvas. The Antique Vault and Records is the anchor of the Courthouse Shops. I am a hands-on owner—I know everything that goes on day-to-day, hour-to-hour, week-to-week, year-to-year. I sleep with one eye open. Brownie points for all the readers who catch my song lyric references! A decade in the same location, I am still here, and it’s never been a dull moment for me. I love the area and the people.

Crown Point sits between Chicago and Northwest Indiana with its own local scene, and Crown Point Records closed early this year — leaving Antique Vault as the town's record shop. What role does the shop play in Crown Point now that it's on its own, and who's walking through the door?

I grew up in Northwest Indiana and lived in Chicago for most of my adult life, so I know this area really well. I’m grateful my store is literally in the heart of Crown Point in the center of the Old Crown Point Courthouse. I am blessed business is good and has steadily increased every year. The store was established in 2016, and I am a one-man operation taking care of business seven days a week. My customer base reaches music lovers of all ages, races, colors, and creeds. Everyone is welcome here. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the unique businesses inside the courthouse really complement each other. The Courthouse Shops are special.

You carry LPs, 45s, and 78s — actual 78s, which most shops don't bother with anymore. Is there still a real 78s customer walking in, or is it estate collections that arrive with them and you sort out later?

I curate my inventory to carry awesome titles and a vast selection in all forms of physical music media. Be it a 45, a 78, a 33, a CD, a cassette, an 8-track, or even a reel-to-reel. I have consistently sold 78s as those particular customers have sought me out. Probably because I carry all the physical music formats and specialize in rare and hard-to-find media. I usually know if I want to buy for the shop when I see it.

When someone walks in with a box of records to sell, what makes a collection an easy yes for you in the first thirty seconds — the tell-tales you look for before you've even started pricing?

I rely on the many years of personal experience I’ve had acquiring my personal collections of records, musical instruments, and audio equipment. I have been collecting for a long time and there are many variables to determine value. It is an art learned over many years. I am constantly learning new things with every purchase. Trying to learn the art of record collecting overnight would be kind of like trying to learn Mandarin Chinese overnight. Ninety-nine percent of the time it’s my intuition and a lot of other intangibles. If you are reading this and are a seller, please call the store for details. I buy collections by appointment only.

Indiana summers are humid, winters are cold, and a lot of collections around here lived in a basement or attic before they got to you. What condition damage do you see most in Northwest Indiana collections, and what would you tell a seller to do differently?

I’ve seen records from all over the USA and foreign countries on vacation and buying trips. I see the exact same thing everywhere. Either people take care of their LPs, or they don’t. Buying anything used requires some knowledge of what you are buying. If something does not look right, smell right, etc., I pass on them. It cane be a total crapshoot, really. But the hunt? That's the best part. My advice to anyone out there is simple just store your records properly!

You also carry turntables, players, and speakers — gear alongside records. What's the wildest or most memorable piece — a record or a piece of equipment — that's come through the door?

I’ve been collecting things since I was about seven years old, I’ve seen, bought, and sold many, many really cool things. I think the adventure of how I find these rare records, collectibles, and musical equipment is still the biggest kick for me. Over the years, I think I’ve just become a magnet for it. It’s hard to pick just one piece, but here is a great story. A couple was getting married upstairs at the Grand wedding venue on the second floor of the courthouse.The bride and groom suddenly realized they needed a CD player for their wedding and came into the store. I loaned them one right on the spot so they didn't have to go on a mad run to find one. They were in a massive hurry, so I just handed it over so they could get back to their nuptials upstairs. A few months later, the bride's father came into the store completely out of the blue and gifted me his entire LP collection, along with some vintage toys. He came in to thank me for what I did. It turned out to be an amazing collection of European and Asian press rock LPs and rare vintage toys. It was total shock and awe. I'll never forget that kindness.

Plenty of what walks in is inherited. What's the honest picture: how often does an inherited Northwest Indiana collection turn out to have real value, and what's usually in it when it does?

This is a difficult question to answer as every lot I have purchased is never the same. I am an experienced buyer for my store, and it is hard to speak to how other individuals go about purchasing. One man's junk is another man's treasure. Record collections are a glimpse of who someone is. You can tell quite a bit about a person just from their music, whether it’s inherited or collected. It is truly a glimpse into the personal soundtrack of their life, mixed in with reflections of their past and present memories. Some have similarities, while others are absolutely unique. At the end of the day, record collectors are emotional people, and records are worth what someone is willing to pay for them.

Running a record shop inside a historic building, in a town that just lost its other record store, is a very specific situation. For someone thinking about opening a shop in a small city — especially with the antiques/vintage angle — what did you learn early on that you wish someone had told you?

I don’t have a college or business background, so I don’t think I’m qualified to give anyone formal business advice. There is no big secret to my success. I've thrown a lot of spaghetti at the wall over the years to see what would stick. What can I say? I like spaghetti. I think growing up in a musical environment at a very early age, with a guitar in my hands and my mom and dad’s record collection nearby, was definitely my guide. Enjoying what I do and meeting music lovers every day doesn't feel like work to me. The world needs music more than ever, and I guess I am just trying to save the world one record at a time. Music is as necessary as the sun, the moon, and the stars. Come by and discover something new at The Antique Vault & Records.

Last updated: 2026-10-02

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