It’s the end of an era. And the beginning of a new one. 

Bob Roets finally did what no one, other than he and his family, thought he would ever do: He retired from one of Fort Wayne’s most iconic businesses at the beginning of the year, handing the keys to the three Wooden Nickel Records stores to his son Christopher Roets.

To celebrate his tenure as the head of Wooden Nickel Records, Baker Street Centre will host Roetstock: A BobFest on Friday, March 15, featuring performances by The High Freqs, Alicia Pyle & Sunny Taylor, U.R.B., Kenny Taylor, and The Legendary Trainhoppers. 

It will be a time to look back fondly on times spent in his stores, take the chance to show your appreciation to the man himself, and look back at the impact he and his family have had on the Fort Wayne community.

Taking a chance

As many know, Roets came to Fort Wayne in 1981 as the manager of Slatewood Records, a three-store chain based in Madison, Wisconsin. He managed that store a few years before it abruptly closed. 

Seeing the potential, Roets negotiated a lease in the same spot. 

“I didn’t know what was going to happen, but one thing I did know was that I had built up a little bit of clientele,” Roets said in a recent Whatzup interview.

In July 1982, armed with a small amount of money, his stereo system, and his personal record collection that he turned into inventory, Roets opened Wooden Nickel Records and Tapes at 3627 N. Clinton St. 

By his count, there were 11 other record stores in Fort Wayne, but none seemed to have the local connections he had established. 

“From the beginning, I said I’m going to do this right and get out there and reach people,” he said.

Community connection

To do that, he enlisted several local radio personalities, including Elvis & Hammer and Doc West, to help. 

“Doc said he would be there the first day, and he was,” Roets said of the DJ for WXKE-FM. “He broadcast live that first day and literally helped open the store.”

It’s that connection to the community that Roets counts as one of his favorite things about owning his business. 

He was involved with the Whatzup Battle of the Bands for more than a decade, helped tremendously in presenting the annual Whatzup Whammy Awards, served on the board of the Fort Wayne Children’s Choir and the Carroll High School Band Boosters, worked at many of the events at C2G Music Hall, and assisted WBOI’s Julia Meek on many occasions. 

“I probably have 3,000 videos on my YouTube channel from doing those things,” he said.

Support for local artists

Roets has also employed many local musicians, members of the artistic community, and even hack writers like myself over the years. He has hosted countless local bands and artists in his stores as well, strengthening and solidifying his bond with the local music community. 

In the beginning, he said, record label representatives would contact him routinely asking him to host national artists for meet and greets: “We did a lot of those.” 

However, as downloading became more prevalent, those in-store events were cut back. 

“Where it really hit rock bottom was 1998, when Napster hit,” Roets said.

At that time, his focused turned toward the local music scene. 

“That’s when I met Sunny Taylor, Matt Kelley, the guys from Left Lane Cruiser, and people like that,” he said. “We built a stage right after we moved into the (North) Anthony location and started hosting bands. Almost any band that wanted to throw a new release party, we’d do it for them.”

Navigating choppy waters

Roets has had to navigate the many changes of the music buying public over the years, shifting from vinyl to cassettes to CDs and back to vinyl, all while downloading and streaming took a big part of his potential customers from him. 

He credits his participation in Record Store Day, which began in 2007, and his membership in the Coalition of Independent Music Stores as two of the biggest factors helping him stay afloat.

“By 2006, records weren’t selling at all and CD sales were severely down because iTunes was killing us,” he said. 

His membership in CIMS is something he proudly boasts since Fort Wayne is the smallest market represented in the organization and the only member with three stores.

Lasting impact

But, what he doesn’t say, or, perhaps is too humble to admit, is that he is likely the biggest reason Wooden Nickel has not only survived, but has continued to thrive when so many record stores across the country have closed. 

Through 40-plus years, as you might expect, Roets has affected many people in a positive way. One only needs to go as far as the incomparable Doc West.

“Bob’s passion and enthusiasm for our musical community will be passed from generation to generation for the next hundred years,” West said. “In spite of the attempts by big-box stores to snuff out locally owned record stores, the Roets family is still standing.”

Fort Wayne music royalty Sunny Taylor said that she was only 18 when she met Roets, shortly after releasing her first album. 

“He agreed to carry it at Wooden Nickel,” she said. “Because of that, I was able to get my music to a bigger audience at a time when music streaming didn’t exist. 

“He highlighted so many local artists during his Record Store Day events, and he has supported a lot of local music venues over the years. Very few people in our community have pulled harder to shine a light on Fort Wayne’s music community than Bob Roets.”

Another local musical stalwart, Alicia Pyle, concurs. 

“Bob Roets has been one of the main heartbeats for local music for his entire career,” she said. “The way that he always took the time to connect with people, showcase bands, and champion local music will leave a lasting impression on our city and our music scene for generations to come.”

Matt Kelley of The Legendary Trainhoppers and owner of One Lucky Guitar explained the magic of Wooden Nickel. 

“Those visits resulted in me buying my new favorite-album-ever, or queuing up to buy tickets the moment they went on sale for a concert I’d spent the summer daydreaming about, or the friendships made by striking up a conversation with another patron who had also lined up to buy ‘Insert Album Here’ on its day of release,” Kelley said. 

Former local musician and now international touring guitarist Justin Zych, one of those musicians Roets employed over the years, said he appreciated having an income while he was learning his craft and finishing his education. 

“He always took the time to help local musicians succeed and bring their products into the store,” Zych said. 

While we will celebrate the past on March 15, the remaining question is how Roets will fill his days now. 

He said he is still going to stay active with the stores behind the scenes, helping Christopher as he pilots the stores in both familiar and new ways. He also plans to spend a lot of time with his granddaughter and travel as much as he can with his wife, Cindy. 

To gauge his impact on the community, Adam Baker of The High Freqs put it best. 

“Bob Roets is an icon of vinyl, a music history lesson in human form, and a huge supporter of live music from local to national acts,” he said. “I know the music community will miss working with him, but after all that he’s done, he deserves a great retirement and hopefully the rest of us can live up to the bar he has set.”