Rockford record store celebrates 50 years of nostalgia

Retired bus driver Bob Morris, of Rockford, estimates he has shopped at Toad Hall Books and Records three times a week for decades. 

“Their selection of music is great,” Williams said. “I’ve purchased everything imaginable here over the years. Jazz, Blues, Rock. I’ve also purchased stereo equipment including amps, turntables and speakers.”

Toad Hall, 2106 Broadway, has been quenching collectors’ thirst for popular and obscure records, vintage books and magazines and pre-owned comic books for 50 years.

The store’s customer base extends well beyond the Rockford region, according to Nick Naruz, whose family purchased Toad Hall in 2005.

“We regularly attract people from Iowa, the (Chicago) suburbs, Madison and Milwaukee,” Naruz said. “There are fewer and fewer stores that sell records and die-hard collectors are going to drive an hour or more to get a great selection, a great price and great customer service. We have all of that.”

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Toad Hall is tucked into a neighborhood of modest homes on the city’s southeast side.

The business is filled with hundreds of thousands of vintage records, stereo equipment, books and comics. 

While other small businesses, including restaurants, struggled to weather the pandemic, Toad Hall experienced a growth surge.

“The pandemic was great for us,” Naruz said. “Everyone was stuck in their home. People got back into collecting and people were buying online. It’s not just my stuff. Any collectibles across the board. I don’t care if it was spoons, stamps, plates or records. All collectibles saw triple digit growth. We’ll probably never see it again.”

Toad Hall currently has four full-time employees, including Naruz and his mother, Pat. The store also has five part-time workers.

“The customers come in, and they’re happy to be here,” Naruz said. “They’re thrilled to make a purchase, and they go home happy. When you make people happy all of the time, it makes it a lot easier to work at the counter.”

Naruz is hopeful the success of Toad Hall will help spur a revival of the neighborhood.

Toad Hall recently opened an 800 square foot addition on the east side of its two-story brick building. 

The Naruz family also purchased a vacant lot and a two-story house east of their business and are landlords to a vintage toy store and an art gallery across the street. 

Naruz said a celebration will be held in late summer or early fall to mark Toad Hall’s golden anniversary.

Nostalgia, he said, will always be in style.

“People will buy an old record and travel back in time to that feeling,” Naruz said. “Good or bad, music is always a time capsule. It’s the same thing for books, magazines and movies. Everything we sell is part of that.”