Help Encore Records

In 2011, when Peter Dale announced his retirement from Encore Records (Encore Recordings, as it was then known) Bill McClelland and I (Jim Dwyer) made the decision to become small-business owners, primarily to keep the store open for the music-loving people of Ann Arbor and Southeast Michigan. We had never planned on becoming small-business owners, but we consulted our wives and took the plunge.

We knew about buying and selling records, but had a lot to learn about actually running a business. With the help of our hard-working staff, and our loyal customers, we managed to make it work. As Peter had told us, it was a “break-even” prospect, but everyone always got paid their weekly wages, and we were able to keep a steady stream of great music coming into the hands of those who shopped at our humble little project. When our building got sold and we lost our lease at Liberty street in 2019, we faced and met the new challenge of finding a new location and moving everything. Again, with the heavy labor of staff and friends-of-the-store, we managed to make that happen. We are so proud of our new location!

Then came COVID-19. To keep our staff and customers safe & healthy, we suspended daily operations a week ahead of Gov. Whitmer’s emergency declaration. Our staff have been effectively laid off, temporarily. We will very soon be facing a situation where our rent, utilities and other outstanding costs risk going unmet, in addition to full payment to staff for hours worked on the last payroll.

Thus, here we stand, cap in hand. Following the example of other beloved local shops, we are asking for your help. We currently don’t have enough cash on hand to cover what looks to be another month, or maybe even two, of rent, utilities, and other debts. We realize that everyone is under the same cloud of uncertainty, anxious about the lack of solid leadership in Washington, and tight on funds.

As embarrassing as it is to be asking for this kind of assistance, we put our situation before you. Please note that we are not asking for the money for ourselves: any and all funds that we might be lucky enough to raise from this outreach (we are hoping for $30,000) will go solely to keeping Encore Records alive, and viable for the future. Thank you for your consideration, stay well, and let’s keep on rockin’!