HIGHLANDS – Wishing there was a place nearby that sold vinyl, 48 year old Panera Bread franchise owner, Mike Waggener, says he thought he would be in the company of cool local stores when he moved into the area three years ago. But Waggener is noticing more and more that the Highlands is just becoming a strip mall that’s too expensive for truly quirky local businesses to move into.

“My wife and I arrived here from St. Louis a few years back when we opened the Panera,” said Waggener. “We chose this area specifically because we heard the Highlands was a hip area, but it’s just a bunch of boring shops.”

While Waggener admits he doesn’t have tons of time to shop in the area, he says what he misses most is shopping for vinyl after a long day at work.

“When my wife and I lived in St. Louis, we would meet after work and spend a couple of hours shopping for vinyls and other cool things at a local record store, Euclid Records,” said Waggener. “I know there are some record shops here in town, but we live across the street and I just walk everywhere. I’m just saying it would be nice to have a record shop closer to the Panera.

Frank Thompson

Germantown Times

September 2014