Toronto woman opens store of her dreams in hidden coach house

Walk by and you might just miss it: Nestled behind The Greenwood Café is a charming coach house that has been transformed into a record lover's paradise.

Local resident and music enthusiast Courtney Radic officially opened the doors of her new record shop, called Baxters Vinyl, in January.

Radic, who once ran a small local newspaper, has been a passionate record collector for approximately 15 years.

"My love for music has always been there," she told blogTO. "The hobby turned into a business, almost organically and naturally, and unfolded during the pandemic."

Previously located at 198 Sammon Avenue, just north of Donlands subway station, Baxters Vinyl specializes in relocating records and record collections, preserving vintage vinyl, and putting sought-after albums into the hands of collectors.

The new location, which is tucked behind a local café in a hidden coach house, has allowed Radic and her husband Geoff Hill, who helps run the business, to tap into the vibrancy of the community near Queen Street East and Greenwood Avenue.

"There's a really nice neighbourhood feel here. It's very supportive, and the other local businesses are wonderful," Radic said.

"We have the opportunity to partner with the cafe to do live music events and DJ afternoons, which is something that we weren’t able to do with the previous location," she added, noting that the record shop shares a courtyard with the café.

The store carries a wide range of used vinyl in great condition, including genres like rock, classic rock, metal, blues, R&B, soul and funk, jazz, reggae, hip hop, and everything in between.

For collectors on the hunt, the store also stocks rare and specialty items. "We're always looking to buy collections and records from people who are downsizing or looking to unload what they're not listening to anymore," Radic said.

While they've only been open for a few months, Radic says the response from the community has been nothing short of incredible. "A lot of people go into the cafe and discover us out in the back here in our little coach house. It's almost like a surprise when you walk out of the back of the cafe to find us here."

As they get nestled into their new location, Baxters Vinyl will be hosting a big record blowout sale at their former location (198 Sammon Ave.) on May 3 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with thousands of overstock records available at fair prices.

Baxters Vinyl is located at 1374 Queen St. E.