A burst pipe won't stop the music at Alien Records

When Aaron Robbins and Timothy Henninger first started dating in 2022, they quickly realized they shared a passion for music.

“Tim was an obsessive record collector and it was something we just loved doing together,” said Robbins.

As Henninger was starting to get burnt out on his event-planning job for a Cincinnati-area venue, the two began strategizing how they could turn their shared love for music into an actual business.

“We would visit record stores in Cincinnati all the time and really just turned to each other one day and said, ‘We should open a record store!’” said Robbins.

Realizing there wasn’t a record store in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, just north of downtown, Robbins and Henninger presented a business plan to 3CDC, nonprofit real estate developer dedicated to revitalizing downtown Cincinnati’s urban core.

3CDC was sold on the idea and helped the couple identify an 1100-square-foot space on Vine Street.

“We had some money in a 401K and were like, ‘Well, it’s now or never,’” said Robbins.

Two years after they launched as a record store and a hub for the LGBTQ+ community, the couple experienced a major setback a few weeks ago when a pipe burst and destroyed a huge chunk of their inventory.

Still, they are determined – with the community’s help – to keep the vinyl spinning.

Opening the door to Alien Records

Robbins and Henninger opened Alien Records on November 8, 2024.

The store is open seven days a week and serves as the couple’s main source of livelihood. Alien Records’ in-store inventory is about 75% used vinyl, sourced from either people coming in to sell their records or via stock that the couple secures at estate sales. They also host a website where shoppers can peruse over a million titles of new records from both major record and indie labels.

“The website is basically a limitless catalogue and has been instrumental in reaching new customers,” said Robbins.

The name of the store was derived from one of their treasured titles: cat dads.

“We have four cats, and the only one who doesn’t look like an alien is named Alien,” laughed Robbins. “When we were filling out the LLC forms, we needed a name. Tim looked at Alien and said, ‘Alien Records.’”

And their record store had a name.

The records range in genres from dance to pop to electronic to Japanese city pop to vaporwave. And there is a dedicated effort to source every release – mainstream or rare printing – from a certain member of pop royalty.

“Madonna is our diva,” said Robbins.

‘Incredible points of connection’

Robbins said the past two years at Alien Records have been amazing. The couple didn’t want to open their doors, sell records and then go home. Instead, their goal was to become a community hub and build relationships, something they say they have been able to do daily.

“A visitor stopped in right after the loss of one of their grandparents and then they looked up and that grandparent’s favorite album was right there the wall,” Robbins said. “Those incredible points of connection happen all the time.”

They also have been able to transform the space into a disco a few times a month, rolling the record bins to the side to create dance space. No matter what music is playing, the events are always “queer forward.”

“We love being able to give LGBTQ+ people a place to come and dance and connect,” said Robbins. “We call the events IRL (in real life) because we want to be an old school little disco party especially when everything else in life is so tailored to your phone and the apps.”

Turnout has been particularly high for sapphic-only events.

“The women who attend talk about the complete freedom they experience, not having to always worry about their safety and being able to kiss another girl without being made to feel uncomfortable,” said Robbins. “I didn’t know so many people were starved for a space like that.”

A basement disaster, and a flood of support

With limited storage space and a lack of climate control in the basement under the store, Robbins and Henninger made the decision on September 23 to move a lot of their record inventory to the basement in their nearby home.

Eight days later, a pipe burst in the kitchen when the two were out for the day, pouring down into the basement and onto the shelves that held the records. The shelves collapsed from the weight of the water and the fallen records blocked the drain on the floor. The basement was flooded with almost two feet of water.

Nearly 1,000 records and $18,000 worth of store inventory were destroyed.

“There were maybe 15 records left after all of that,” said Robbins. “The cats thankfully weren’t down there.”

The couple asked the community to be patient with them as they assessed how to move forward.

“I made a video on our socials explaining to our customers that our hours were going to vary and it was going to take some time for us to get things back in order,” said Robbins. “We were running back and forth, doing things like having to constantly empty humidifiers.”

The community immediately responded, reaching out to the couple to ask how they could help. One suggested creating a GoFundMe.

“I struggle asking for help from even people that are close to me, so I was apprehensive about setting that up,” said Robbins. “But a close friend said, ‘People care about you guys and the store and want to help,’ so I set one up for the first time in my life.”

The past few weeks have been a blur of flood recovery, but the couple has been bolstered by the support they have experienced.

“The LGBTQ+ community has definitely surrounded us with love, whether it’s just a message of caring or offers to come babysit the store while we go and deal with stuff at home,” said Robbins.

Robbins said the couple takes seriously their role of being LGBTQ+ business owners (“We are a visibly queer space who take responsibility for caring for our LGBTQ+ community here.”) and that there is no question that Alien Records will survive to keep playing music.

“If someone came to me and was like, ‘Listen, you have to cut off your right leg to keep the store,’ I’d be like, ‘Give me the saw,’” said Robbins. “We don’t have children, and this place is our everything. This is all going to work out because we’re doing the work to make sure that it does, not just for us, but for the whole community.” 🔥

IGNITE ACTION

To support Alien Records via their GoFundMe, go here.
Buy some records via Alien Records by visiting their website here or stopping by the store at 1207 Vine Street in Cincinnati.