BORDENTOWN CITY: Music hub thrives

By David Kilby, Special Writer
   BORDENTOWN CITY—The Record Collector plans to expand its already popular presence on Farnsworth Avenue by adding a cafe in front and a concert hall in the back.
   The Record Collector store has been in Bordentown for eight years.
   John Chrombanis, of Yardley, Pennsylvania, who co-owns the store with his wife, Sue, said he has a one- to two-year plan to expand his business at the Farnsworth Avenue location.
   He is looking to diversify his business through a cafe and increase the capacity of the concerts held in the store with a new concert room in the back that can hold up to 250 people. The concert room now is serving as the storage area for the company’s online commerce.
   The Record Collector has one of the largest varieties of records in the country at its Farnsworth Avenue location, but the store offers even more titles on its website, www.the-record-collector.com.
   The store was “voted No. 1 as the favorite independent record store in the tri-state area” by Details Magazine and received an honorary mention in Spin Magazine online in an article listing the best record stores in the country, being the only New Jersey record store mentioned, according to the organization Downtown Bordentown.
   As he pondered expansion, Mr. Chrombanis also spoke of maybe having WiFi access in the forthcoming cafe so people can listen to music before they buy it and possibly adding “open mic” nights in the cafe area as well.
   He plans to have the cafe finished by next summer, and the new concert area he said will take about two years to complete.
   The store hosts bands every Friday night all year long and sometimes on Saturdays and Sundays. The record and CD racks in the front of the store roll away, creating an open floor that can hold up to 115 people for the local concerts, said John Tyminski, audio engineer for the concerts.
   Friday, the store held a show called “East Meets West” with Spanking Charlene and Antioquia. Spanking Charlene is a loud “in your face” band, and Antioquia is more of a mellow “hippie” band, Mr. Chrombanis said.
   Also, Spanking Charlene is more popular locally so the store is using the opportunity to spread the popularity of Antioquia in the area, giving it the chance to stand on the shoulders of the local band.
   ”That’s how we build up bands,” Mr. Chrombanis said, “so next time they come around, more people will come out.”
   The store has had several big name bands play in its little music hub like Wanda Jackson, Pete Best — original drummer of The Beatles, Denny Laine, Jon Herington and the local favorite band, The Grip Weeds.
   The concerts cost an average of $12 per person, and there is no alcohol.
   ”You don’t have to worry about people getting unruly,” Mr. Chrombanis said. “People actually listen to your music. At bars, bands are kind of background music.”
   He added, “It’s a living, breathing record store — a museum.”
   He said many well-known artists are regulars at the store like Mad Dog Vinnie Lopez, Vinnie Martell from Vanilla Fudge and Tommy Ramone of the Ramones.
   The Chrombanises have owned The Record Collector for approximately 30 years. They started out in a record store on South Broad Street in Trenton, then moved the store to Morrisville, Pennsylvania, where they remained for about 12 years.
   They only rented the buildings they were in as they were looking for a building they could own and run concurrently. That’s how they found their location in Bordentown, which is where they’ve been for the past eight years.
   The couple said they always planned to have concerts at their store because they “wanted to keep the music going.”
   Even though the building in the back needs a great deal of work before it can serve as a concert room, Mr. and Ms. Chrombanis are excited about the expansion.
   ”It’s a small venue, but we rock the house,” Ms. Chrombanis said. “We have top quality bands come in here.”
   She said, “We don’t fool around,” mentioning some upcoming shows she’s excited about including country singer Nicole Kottke and the Alexis P. Suter Band, an eight-piece blues band.
   Still, when they book a really popular band, she admitted there’s often an issue with space.
   They are hopeful the expansion will fix that problem.