Bob Koester

[4] He began collecting and trading classic 78 rpm records when he was in high school.

[4] While in university, Koester sold records by mail order from his dormitory room.

Short, Barrelhouse Buck McFarland,[5] and James Crutchfield among others) who were living in St. Louis.

The rent at that location ultimately proved too costly, and Koester closed the store after selling off its entire inventory to Wolfgang's Vault.

[7] He reopened the store in the Horner Park neighborhood at the end of April 2016, in the front room of his Delmark Records studio at 4121 N. Rockwell St.[8] Shortly afterwards, he opened a smaller outlet at Irving Park Road called Bob’s Blues & Jazz Mart.

They met at the West Grand Avenue store, located across the street from the American Medical Association where she worked.