Macon Magazine

store is a little less clubhouse and a lot more fully stocked: their new space holds over 30,000 used records, and thousands more of new releases, and sales are trending up. The move to Cherry Street puts Fresh Produce at the center of downtown as they expand. As years progressed, Dantzler said learning better business prac- tices and serving a broader customer base has helped the business grow. He also learned to master social media and online sales when Fresh Produce's storefront went on hiatus during COVID. A er reopening, Dantzler said foot traffic exceeded pre-pandemic levels while online sales fueled growth. "I started out as a record collector and never gave up on vinyl," he said. "I'm glad I hung on." OLD SCHOOL MUSIC HEADQUARTERS (LAFAYETTE RECORDS) There are independent Macon record stores open today that long preceded Fresh Produce, with rhythm and blues at the forefront. Lafayette Haynes opened Old School Music Headquarters (some- times called Lafayette Records) on Cotton Avenue in 1967, the same year he started at WIBB radio with his "Laughing Lafayette Show," which interviewed R&B legends like The Temptations and Fletch Stone. In 2009 he moved his stash of R&B, soul, and other hit music to 522 Second St. Through the past 56 years, music lovers – some with big names like James Brown – visited the store to flip through albums while Haynes sold records and spun history, like he does to this day. HABERSHAM RECORDS Habersham Records was opened by teacher, businessman and activist Alex Habersham in the Unionville neighborhood in 1971. In light of starting other businesses, such as The Macon-Middle Geor- gia Black Pages and Resource Guide, serving on boards and starting community betterment organizations, such as Adopt-A-Role-Mod- el, Habersham sold the record store to his sister, Phillis Habersham Malone, in 1986. It is now at 2808 Napier Ave. Though definitive statistics don't exist, reports from recent years indicate there may only be 30 Black- owned record stores in the U.S. Of those, other reports indicate Malone's is among only about three or four owned by Black women. Among those, hers is by far the oldest in operation. Malone is humble about that distinction, and gave credit to her alma mater, Mercer University, where her degree in psychology and minor in sociology helped her understand what customers are looking for when they seek out songs. She continued, "I know my faith in God and the principles I learned from my biblical studies helped me in my determination as a woman, a Black woman, to maintain and sustain my business. As for history, I'm proud of the business but you don't think about that in the day to day, you just do your duty to your store and your custom- ers. It's the beautiful people I deal with daily – white, Black, Latino, Asian, whoever –that keep me going and li me up." As to how she started out in this business, she shared, "I just stockpiled vinyl records when they were going out of fashion," Malone said. "I knew people were interested even though not many were coming in for them a er cassettes and CDs took over. Now, they're back in style and back in style profusely. I've had people come in not just from Macon but from Japan, England and Denmark – people from all over want these albums. My customers are really happy with all the old stuff and new releases that are coming out. I can't think of anything I want that's not in print. I think young people feel they missed out and are catching up." Malone said there's a generational convergence as vinyl regains popularity. "Kids get all the new music and discover people like The Temptations and Diana Ross, Parliament, The Bar-Kays and Funkadelic. They're getting the connection to a real, physical album like we used to enjoy. It's something they can share with their parents." VERTIGO VINYL Mount de Sales graduate and Mercer University student Noah Silver is an LP-selling, entrepreneurial, social media phenomenon; the picture of Malone's theory of generational convergence through vinyl. The newly 19-year-old Silver's success came through online and social media efforts that led to opening a storefront in Mercer Village at 1305 Linden Ave. this past year called Vertigo Vinyl. Silver's business has a nearly half a million followers on TikTok alone and his store draws customers far and wide. His social media posts showcase store tours, day-in-the-life content, and, most pre- dominantly, mesmerizing packing videos. Silver does the ubiquitous FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: FRESH PRODUCE RECORDS OWNER WILLIAM DANTZLER AND MANAGER WILLIAM RUTLEDGE. PHOTO BY JESSICA WHITLEY. PHILLIS HABERSHAM MALONE RECEIVES A BLACK BUSINESS PIONEER AWARD AT THE TUBMAN MUSEUM. JUNE/JULY 2023 | maconmagazine.com 79

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