Stellarton record shop owner intends to re-open
STELLARTON – Dennis Balesdent spent part of March 19 sifting through the aftermath of a fire that put him – temporarily – out of business.
Not only that, it was his 50th birthday.
When a fire broke out three days earlier at a downtown Stellarton building, displacing a family of three, the owner of Ohm-N-Audio also found himself without a job to go to.
“I was inside today to have a look around. Some of the ceiling’s caving, there’d a light fixture hanging, there’s things all over floor.”
He estimates that he saved 25-30 per cent of his product, although about 10 turntables he had for sale were most likely ruined from smoke and water damage.
“It was better than I thought, and I’ll be able to recover.”
In a sad irony, he had recently decided to buy insurance, but hadn’t yet gotten to it. However, Balesdent is looking at a new spot to reopen.
“I had hoped to be in Stellarton because the place welcomed me, and it’s really homey, but in the emergency that happened upon this space .... ”
Among the losses were thousands of albums, some of them rare, some signed by the artists themselves.
A POSITIVE SPIN
It started out as a hobby, but collecting records and working on stereos selling them became a career option for Balesdent, who opened his store in April 2018.
“I’ve had steady customer growth,” he says. “It’s grown to the point where it’s a real business.”
Despite the setback, Balesdent remains optimistic about his future.
“No matter what type of adversity faces you, it’s all temporary. All of this is temporary, and you can either climb over it or lay down. And that’s how I see this. You can climb over it, or lay down, and I’m not really into laying down.”
Just after the fire, one of his regular customers started a GoFundMe page, raised more than $1,000 in less than 24 hours. It’s now over $1,600.
“I’ve always know that Pictou County is a really general generous spot. You don’t have to know the person (in need) and you’re right there for them. That’s incredibly special to me.”