Joe Smith, who grew up surrounded by vinyl and CDs, is bringing his family‑owned record‑store chain to the Kansas City metro area. The new Joe’s Records will open next year inside Oak Park Mall in Overland Park, marking the company’s first store in the region.
Family business expands
Smith began working in a record shop as a teenager in 1987 and later spent 15 years with Trans World Entertainment before launching Joe’s Records. Today the chain operates three stores in St. Louis, Springfield, Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee. Smith and his wife, Jen, run the business from their home in St. Louis, and their two sons, ages 20 and 18, have been helping out for years.
What the new store will offer
The Overland Park location will carry a wide selection of vinyl records and CDs across genres, including heavy metal, rock, hip‑hop, rap, country, and alternative music. In addition, shoppers can find rock‑themed apparel. “We really don’t care what you like as long as you like something,” Smith said, emphasizing the store’s commitment to serving all music lovers.
Reviving the mall‑store experience
Smith highlighted the resurgence of mall traffic, noting that Oak Park Mall’s growth provides a promising environment for the new shop. “There’s a lot of really fantastic commerce going on right now in these malls,” he said. The store aims to bring back the nostalgic ’80s and ’90s mall‑store aesthetic that many longtime shoppers remember.
Local impact
The addition of Joe’s Records adds another retail option for Overland Park residents and contributes to the local economy by creating jobs and drawing music enthusiasts to the mall. Smith expressed optimism about the store’s debut, saying the momentum of the broader record‑collecting revival has helped the business thrive.
“It’s so awesome that this made such a massive comeback, and we stuck around long enough to really benefit from it,” Smith added. “I love the business and the fact that it’s doing well. I’m prouder of it than I am of me.”
Original reporting: Johnson County Post (Overland Park) — read the source article.
