It was earlier this summer when we first broke the news that Dearborn Music would be opening a new location in downtown Farmington.

It’s a banner year for the Dearborn-based record store, a cultural touchstone for music fans throughout the region and beyond. Sales and specials have helped celebrate the store’s 65th year in business all summer long.

Now owners Rick and Kevin LeAnnais have something else to celebrate. The brothers, who bought the business from their father in 2001, will open the doors to the new Farmington location this Thursday, Sept. 2, at 10 a.m.

The store will operate under its normal business hours through a “soft opening,” with the official grand opening celebration being planned for later in September.

The new storefront has the potential to bring new faces to downtown Farmington. That’s especially true on days like Record Store Day. The biannual event inspires music fans to line up around the block at the Dearborn location, waiting in line for hours as they jockey for position to get their shot at rare and collectible vinyl records.

“A record store is a destination store. So we're not gonna just be pulling people from Farmington, we’ll be pulling people from the surrounding communities. It's gonna bring more people downtown, and maybe for the first time. They’re going to get a chance to look at the farmers market or some of the restaurants down there, the other shops,” Rick LeAnnais told us in May.

“All the time we have people telling us that they drove an hour just to get here.”

In the months since the second location was first announced, the Dearborn Music team has been busy preparing and stocking the Farmington storefront, an old Dressbarn retail store that closed in 2019. It’s a big space to fill; LeAnnais estimated that 4,700 sq. ft. of the 6,200 st. ft. space would be reserved for retail.

Dearborn Music has been introducing themselves to the Farmington community in a number of ways, including appearances at the Farmington Farmers & Artisans Market. From their booth, workers offered prizes and a shot at a Dearborn Music “swag bag” via raffle.

Like the Dearborn location, Dearborn Music-Farmington will offer new and used vinyl records, CDs, t-shirts, DVDs and Blu-rays, books, games, and more.

“We like thinking that we're a fun shop to go to. We don't just have music. We have music, pop culture gifts and t-shirts; we have family-oriented games,” Rick LeAnnais said.

“We like to think that we’re a great destination for all things entertainment, just in general.”

Dearborn Music opens its Farmington location on Thursday, Sept. 2, at 10 a.m. and will be open Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Dearborn Music-Farmington is located at 33025 Grand River Ave. in downtown Farmington.

Got a development news story to share? Email MJ Galbraith here or send him a tweet @mikegalbraith.