In today’s Local Look, we’re highlighting one of the hippest record stores you might never have heard of. Dusty Groove, a record store with a difference, started online in 1996. For almost 15 years, it’s also made a home for itself in Wicker Park, where its collection of rare vinyl, new records and CDs is unique in its focus on jazz, soul and other under-played genres.

Browsing the vinyl at Dusty Groove. Photo credit: Dusty Groove.

Why did you choose Chicago?  Tell us about what it means to be a business in Chicago.

We’ve been here since the start, and we’re proud to call Chicago our home because of the unique musical community, the strong cultural legacy and the wonderful diversity that keeps us very strong after all these years.  It’s a great honor to be able to connect with so many different communities in this great city and to be able to learn from them about their music and cultures.

If you could go back in time before you became involved in running the business and share one piece of advice with yourself, what would you tell yourself?

That’s tough, as we haven’t had any big mistakes or missteps.  Maybe the one piece of advice would be to have started sooner. It’s been such a great run so far!

What are your next steps?

We’ve just finished expanding our Wicker Park store. The store has become increasingly popular over the years and has allowed us to continue to expand the styles of music we sell.  Were also working much more strongly at a national and global level—both purchasing large record collections from individuals and institutions, and by continuing to reach non-Chicago customers through our website.  We like to think of ourselves as Chicago’s musical ambassador to the world, which happens through our website where we share our love of music from a uniquely Chicago perspective, often featuring many Chicago artists on our as well as Chicago thoughts and happenings via our blog page.

We want to be in the know!  Name one person, place or thing that you think is one of Chicago’s best-kept secrets—a secret until now, of course.

One person from the past might be the great Joe Danno, the now-deceased proprietor of The Bucket of Suds, a fantastic tavern that was on Cicero Ave. near Belmont Ave. from the postwar years through the 1990s. The tavern was home to Joe’s jazz radio shows broadcast from the bar, a huge range of incredible cocktails and products made by Joe and his sister. It was alsod a frequent hangout for famous visitors, including Elvis Costello and a host of other music acts.

Q&As are edited for clarity and length.