Two siblings are preparing to open Big Rapids newest business, Books and Beats, a store selling vinyl records, used books and music lessons in downtown Big Rapids.
The store is owned by 17-year-old Hudson Pease and 19-year-old Bella Pease, and will be opening directly next to Quinn’s Music at 210 S. Michigan Ave, Suite 2.
The shop will offer many used books and records, while offering lessons in guitar, bass and piano, while also hosting small events alongside Budd Greenman, owner of Quinn’s Music.
Hudson spoke about the events that they could host in the future.
“For bigger events, we will be working with Quinn’s due to the space,” Hudson said. “I would like to have some smaller piano players come in so we can host some smaller events on this side. Anything bigger than that we will host on Quinn’s side. I will be involved with as many jam sessions as possible, which will bring new musicians to the area.”
The store’s inventory will be entirely used inventory, but will also rely on donations from the community. Up to this point, Books and Beats has already received thousands of donated records, including a donation from a Big Rapids community member that included over 1,500 records alone.
Bella spoke about people who would like to get into physical media and why they should check out their store.
“Well, books are really popular and I know lots of people who have Kindles and read books on their phones,” Bella said. “But just to have the physical copy, and me personally, I just like the way they look, or the way they feel when you hold them while you are reading, and even the smell. As for records, you find so many older singers that you would never find on Spotify, especially with the older records; you might find someone you love, and records expand on that more than what you could find online.”
Bella said that most of the time, setting up the store has come from preparing the inventory. This has included sorting the books, checking for damage and making sure records match the sleeves. They have found many records from donations broken or scratched, while some records’ sleeves have been incorrect; this has led Hudson and Bella to spend extra time playing the records to confirm the actual musical content.
The siblings said the business fills a gap that Big Rapids is missing, specifically for vinyl buyers. Big Rapids used to have a large bookstore closer to campus, which closed down in 2017, and its audience was mainly Ferris students.
Criminal justice freshman Manny Tiffany is excited to have a record store opening in Big Rapids, and believes supporting small businesses is important.
“I’m really happy that a record shop is coming to Big Rapids. When I heard the news, I was so excited,” Tiffany said. “The key thing about having a record store in Big Rapids is being able to look at the physical copies. You can see the quality of the records instead of buying them online. Also, it’s great to support a local shop in Big Rapids.”
Originally, the siblings were hoping for a soft opening at the beginning of March, but rebuilding the space and sorting the inventory have taken longer than expected.
The pair now plans on a soft opening of April 7, with a grand opening to come in the coming months. They plan on partnering with Quinn’s to make a grand opening event with live music.