Speaking Volumes Record Store & Repair Shop in Burlington will change hands in April. Owner Norbert Ender, who first launched Speaking Volumes as a used bookstore in 2006 on Pine Street, is selling his offshoot record store on Marble Avenue to Burlington entrepreneur and musician Julian Hackney.
Hackney, 39, is the founder of the ginger beer company Young at Heart and the guitarist for local punk band Rough Francis. While he’s excited to run a record store, it wasn’t necessarily a challenge he’d planned to take on.
“Never in my life would I imagine that I’d own a record store,” Hackney told Seven Days. “But, I mean, it literally fell into my lap. I just couldn’t say no.”
Ender, 62, first approached Hackney about handing off the record shop last summer, while the latter was selling his ginger beer at the nearby Burlington Farmers Market. Ender said in a phone interview that years of construction on Pine Street, difficulty retaining staff and the economic challenges of operating a small business in Burlington led to his decision to sell the record store and concentrate on his recently opened location in Randolph.
“I’m frustrated, burned out and financially tapped out,” Ender said. “I’ve put a lot of time and effort into [the business] … If it wasn’t for my online business, I would have closed up two years ago.”
Hackney maintains a more optimistic outlook toward Speaking Volumes and the city.
“This is a moment of opportunity, so I’m not really listening to any kind of negative stuff about the city. I have to stay positive,” he said. He noted that the road construction along Pine Street is nearly complete, and he highlighted the South End Arts + Business Association’s recently opened gallery and events venue in the former ArtsRiot space as an encouraging development in the neighborhood.
“Our studio, the Box, is right there too,” he said, referencing the recording studio and rehearsal space operated by his brother Urian Hackney. “It feels like a cool little arts community we can build on.”
Ender will retain ownership of the original Speaking Volumes bookstore. Hackney said he’ll complete his takeover of the record shop early next month. In the meantime, he’s begun working to get the shop into shape.
“Things are really rolling already,” Hackney said. “I’m already fully staffed, and Norbert and I have been working on a smooth transition.”
While Hackney has long admired the shop and loved Ender’s curation, he’s excited to put his own stamp on Speaking Volumes. He plans to reorganize the stacks and make the store more of a third space — a hangout spot as well as a retail shop. He’ll have a cooler of Young at Heart ginger beer there, and he plans to make a space for in-store musical performances. He also has designs on expanding the shop’s merchandise.
“I love physical media. It encourages you to listen to music in a more thoughtful way,” Hackney said. “I want the store to have print magazines, photos, VHS tapes, DVDs, tapes and CDs.”
Despite the updates, Hackney won’t change the name of the store.
“It’s a great name; why rebrand?” he said. “Over time, the name will mean something different, because it’s under new management. If I do my job right, it’ll feel like a different store.”
![Speaking Volumes [SIV172]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/episode172.webp?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
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