More music on Main Street

WAUPACA – From 200 square feet to 1,500 square feet, Back to the Vinyl grew out of their first storefront on Water Street as music aficionados continue to support the classic music mediums of vinyl, compact discs and cassette tapes.
Marty and Jennifer Milner opened Back to the Vinyl over Labor Day weekend in 2023, and since then they have carved out their spot amongst the retro music community in the area.
Milner said he grew up with an affinity towards music, with his father being a disc jockey while he was growing up and music was a big piece of his house hold.
A diesel mechanic by trade, Milner said he finally decided to open up a record store when the opportunity for his original store space went up for rent, the store front was across from Danes Hall in Waupaca.
Milner and his wife decided if not now, it may never happen and they decided to take the leap.

They got the opportunity to move into the former Northern Kitchen store at 201 North Main Street, when the store operator decided to back out of the lease due to obligations with other businesses they owned.
The former renters were able to transfer the lease to Milner who moved in Jan. 1 of this year.
Milner said they were lucky to have a dozen of their regular customers show up to help move to the new store front, unpack boxes and set up shelves.
“We were overjoyed, because otherwise it would have been just my wife and I and we probably would still be doing it,” Milner said.
Since opening in 2023 his business has continued to grow, saying high school students are some of his best customers.
“It keeps getting bigger, and I can definitely tell just moving in this location, we’re so much more noticed,” he said. “I’m still getting people that come in and go ‘when did you guys get here?’”
Milner sells new and used records, along with compact discs and cassette tapes.
There are also music t-shirts and record players as well as posters, Milner said anything music related he is trying to include in his store, including working with local artists to sell music-related artwork.
The former Northern Kitchen store had a white tile wall that they displayed kitchen items on that Milner had a friend turn into Pink Floyds, “The Wall” album cover.
There are also listening events that Milner participates in as part of “Record Store Day,” where music companies send out records for listening parties.
The last one was April 24 and featured a midnight release party with a metal band called Ghost, which they held at Danes Hall.
There is also a vinyl night at Hinder, where he shows up with a bunch of vinyl records and plays them for customers. It takes place every other Sunday, the next one being May 11.
“This was like a dream, a dream that I never thought would ever happen,” he said. “We gave it a shot and been here now for over a year and a half, which is wild and it keeps getting bigger.”