HiFi Records

HiFi Records opened in Graham in January 2019, combining vinyl sales with craft beer on tap and a selection of wine. The shop is set up like a relaxed living room, making it a casual place to browse and hang out.

Located at 103 N Main St, HiFi Records focuses on the vinyl format. You can reach them at 336-567-4604 or find them on Instagram at hifi.records.

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Interview with HiFi Records

Jon, HiFi opened in Graham in fall 2018 out of an idea that started in your own living room — vinyl, craft beer, and friends. What did that opening year look like once the idea left the living room and became a storefront on North Main Street?

We actually opened at the end of January 2019 after a ten month floor-to-ceiling buildout of the space in a circa 1900 building. It was a whirlwind really; getting our name out there, answering “when are you guys opening” about a thousand times and never really knowing when that would be. But it was a very successful first year and we have our regulars and small business family to thank.

Graham is a small city between Greensboro and Durham, and HiFi is genuinely a destination — people drive in from an hour away for it. What role has HiFi grown into for downtown Graham, and how much of the room on a Friday night is locals versus people making the trip?

Weekend nights are definitely driven by regulars, but it’s always awesome meeting guys who made the drive to dig through some crates. We’re very thankful to be at the center of a walkable downtown and there’s a great sense of cooperative/collab among the nearby businesses.

HiFi's model — records on the shelves, beer on tap, wine, seating, live music — is closer to a listening bar than a traditional record shop. Was that always the point, or did it evolve as you learned what people actually wanted in the space?

It definitely evolved. The initial idea was 90 percent record store and have a few beers on tap but over time it became a hangout spot for our regular crowd. Although some folks see it as a request-type situation but that’s not really what I do…unless you’re interested in buying a few records.

Vinyl-and-beer places have to walk a real line: is the record buyer the same person as the beer drinker, or are those separate crowds sharing a room? At HiFi, does the vinyl side pay for the beer side, or the other way around?

We rolled the dice in creating the hybrid business model. There are customers who support one or the other, or both. The beer side is a lot more predictable and is good steady income, while the vinyl side depends on influx of quality used records, and pricing them accordingly.

When people bring in used records to sell or trade, what does that process look like at HiFi — is it a real part of what you do, or is the used inventory sourced more deliberately?

Since opening it’s been a steady stream of folks bringing in records…sometimes as donations, sometimes to trade but the vast majority I make cash deals on. There’s a world of music out there and you can get your hands on almost anything but the excitement for me comes with every box or crate that comes in the door. It’s so great to dig in and find that occasional gem.

North Carolina summers are humid and unforgiving on vinyl. What condition damage do you see most in local collections that come through the shop, and what would you tell someone to do differently with storage?

I have rejected collections based on obvious signs of neglect - mothballs, mold, mildew, cigarettes…even if there were some solid titles in there. I’ve said it hundreds of times - if you take simple steps to care for your records, they’ll last decades. Store them vertically, like books, and keep them climate controlled…attics and basements are the death knell of the format.

Beyond the records — the beer selection, the events, the live nights — what's the moment or the night at HiFi that best captures what you set out to build seven years ago?

Every so often we’ll have a night that reminds me of the days in our living room - the place is full but not packed, everybody’s got their drink, the music is good, the vibe is prime. You set it up and let it spin.

HiFi is one of the clearest examples of the "vinyl + something else" model that a lot of people are trying to open right now — record shop plus bar, plus café, plus venue. For someone thinking about opening one of those in their own town, what did you learn early on about making the two sides actually work together?

I guess having a passion for both served me well. If you try to dive into something unfamiliar, you’re probably going to have significant growing pains. While I didn’t know everything (and still don’t, by far), it’s been an amazing learning experience.

Last updated: 2026-09-05

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