Community rallies around Mount Vernon Records as owner fights to stay open

When William Hicks made a plea Friday to help keep his record store from closing, the outpouring of support was immediate.

Hicks, who has owned Mount Vernon Records on West Read Street since 2022, took to social media to ask for donations to help pay his bills in exchange for merchandise and DJ classes.

“This is really hard,” Hicks said in the video. “I really need your help.”

A day later, he choked up as he talked about the response from his community and customers. One person who visited years ago from France even reached out to Hicks, offering a donation because he loved the store and continued to follow its journey.

“It’s been a lot to take in,” Hicks said. “It’s a very odd feeling to know that you’re just doing your own thing, just doing who you are, and it makes an impact on someone who wants to help.”

After years of dreaming and planning, the longtime DJ and Baltimore resident saw an opportunity to open the store on Read Street, an iconic strip in the historic Mount Vernon neighborhood.

His friends used to call the street the “artery to the city” in the 1990s because of the abundance of businesses there and its proximity to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. While many stores from that era have come and gone, Hicks hoped his business would help “bring back this kind of communal space that’s centered around music and art.”

“I felt such a connection to this neighborhood when I first moved to Baltimore,” Hicks said. His first apartment and his favorite record store, Modern Music, were down the street from where his business is today. The space next to his shop was the original Dreamland Vintage Clothing store where “Hairspray” filmmaker John Waters sourced clothing for his movies.

Inside, Mount Vernon Records is more than a collection of vinyl. Turntables and music production equipment line the walls for people looking to take a spin for the first time. Other physical media, including CDs and cassettes, are there for browsers.

For a while after he opened, Hicks said, business was booming. On the side, he hosted community events and block parties and he started a nonprofit called Read St. Alliance with his neighbors to help preserve the area. Toward the end of 2025, there was a sudden 25-30% drop in sales.

“I sell something that is a niche product,” he said, adding that records have become “a luxury item” as day-to-day life becomes more expensive.

Hicks said his landlord has been “as cool as he can be” as he struggles to come up with money at times, but his Baltimore Gas and Electric bill has increased every month despite having the same energy usage and enrolling in the company’s cost-saving programs. He was nervous to reach out for help this week, but between the dip in sales and the high utility bill, he had few other options.

BGE has raised rates in recent years and made a bid to state regulators in July to hike prices again to invest funds into the company’s infrastructure. Those costs won’t go into effect until January, if approved.

Fortunately, Hicks has a network of supporters, many of whom live near his business. Even though his store is only about four years old, he has become a fixture in the neighborhood. He said most days he can be found on his stool at the entrance of the record store, talking with neighbors and other business owners.

A handful of people who knew Hicks greeted him as they passed by Saturday afternoon.

One of those passersby was Greer Yeaton, who was raised in the neighborhood. Her parents, Chuck Yeaton and Pat Moran, worked with Waters and ran two businesses on Read Street for years. Although the area has changed, Yeaton said she was “so excited” when Hicks opened his store.

“It kind of merges two great things in Baltimore,” she said, the music scene unique to the city and the small-business culture of the neighborhood. Yeaton said her friends began to rally around Hicks as soon as he asked for help.

“We love him,” she said. “But we also think this is an important small business to kind of nurture.”

An aspiring DJ who lives nearby shuffled through the records inside the store shortly after it opened Saturday. Hicks chatted with him and apologized for the stacks of vinyl records he was working to organize. The customer told him he enjoyed the vibe of the store.

“It’s gritty. It’s authentic,” he said.

If all goes well, Hicks is hopeful he will reach his goal of $5,000 to pay his bills in one week. Although he hopes to stay in business, he also has high hopes his efforts will help put Read Street back on the map.

“If I was going to do it anywhere,” he said of starting his music business, “this seemed like the place to do it.”