The new record store Vinyl Chickie is selling Pierre Robert’s music collection on ‘Record Shoppe Day’

Philadelphia is finding various ways to cope with the loss of Pierre Robert, the beloved DJ who died in October at 70.

In December, fans of the WMMR-FM (93.3) radio personality celebrated him at a sold-out tribute at the Fillmore. Next month, a memorial bench is expected to be unveiled in Rittenhouse Square, where Robert posted a photo of himself on Instagram days before his death.

A “Pierre Robert Way” street sign is planned for the Gayborhood. There’s talk of a Mural Arts mural.

And now, Pierre-ophiles have an opportunity to honor Robert by owning part of something he treasured: his record collection.

On Saturday, Robert’s vinyl collection — and CDs — will go on sale piece-by-piece at Vinyl Chickie, the Montgomery County shop that longtime Philly music scene photographer Lisa Schaffer opened last spring.

Intrigued by the chance to acquire a rare Robert-owned Rolling Stones / Philadelphia Phillies copy of the band’s 2023 album Hackney Diamonds? Or to get a hold of a Bruce Springsteen bootleg Sentimental Journey radio concert release, or bid in a silent auction on a signed album by Collective Soul, one of Robert’s favorite groups?

Vinyl Chickie, Schaffer’s cozy 450 square foot store in Glenside, about a block away from the Regional Rail station, is the one-stop shop for all such cravings. Robert’s collection comprises 350 LPs — or vinyls, as the kids say — and more than 250 CDs.

Each will be affixed with a sticker designed with a photo of the long-haired DJ who held down the ‘MMR midday slot for four decades, identifying it as “From the Collection of Pierre Robert.”

Saturday, not coincidentally, is Record Store Day, the vinyl lovers’ holiday during which stores around the nation and the Philly area like Siren Records in Doylestown, Repo Records on South Street, and Main Street Music in Manayunk will sell limited-edition RSD vinyl releases.

Vinyl Chickie isn’t permitted to participate in RSD activities this year — Schaffer hasn’t been open for the full year required, having realized her retail dream in May 2025.

Instead, she’s calling her event Record Shoppe Day, in keeping with the bright and inviting Vinyl Chickie’s branding as a “Record Shoppe & Other Delights.”

That sobriquet is a play on Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass’ 1965 album Whipped Cream & Other Delights.

Versions of that album’s cover in original and knockoff iterations are on the walls of Vinyl Chickie, along with Schaffer concert photos of the Stones, Taylor Swift, Arrested Development, Lauryn Hill, and Sun Ra Arkestra’s Marshall Allen.

Signage above doorways was designed by Paul “Jelloman” Vile, the brother of Kurt, who is featured prominently in local music bins alongside Dr. Dog, Schoolly D, and other Philly favorites.

“Music is my life,” Schaffer said. “This whole place is like a self-portrait.”

She grew up in Northeast Philly in a house without vinyl.

“We were an 8-track family,” she said. “My father had one record,” the 1968 debut album by psych-rock band Lothar and the Hand People.

The single mother of two and recent empty nester lives in Glenside, a four-minute drive from her store. She names War and the Kinks as two of her favorite bands and cites Chris Kasper and Hezekiah Jones as local faves.

Her photography business also includes shooting weddings.

“That business is great, that pays my bills,” she said, taking questions while serving a steady stream of record buyers on a Tuesday afternoon. Big sellers this year have been Olivia Dean, K-pop Demons Hunters, and, of course, Taylor Swift.

Schaffer has retail experience working at Northeast Philly head shop Artifax for 10 years and, more recently, two Sundays a month at Chestnut Hill record shop Hideaway Music.

Opening her own store was a dream Schaffer started to get serious about with a five-year plan in 2023, which she mentioned to Glenside business woman Rhiannon Punzo.

A year later, Punzo, who is now Schaffer’s landlord, came back to her with what she believed to be a perfect space, adjacent to both Punzo’s Dovetail gift shop and intimate performance space the CO Lab.

She needed to act quickly while the space was available. “I signed the lease in the fall of 2024, announced it in January and was open by May.” Her backdoor leads to the CO Lab, where a former bowling alley is being converted to a 220-capacity performance space, with plans to open this summer.

Schaffer — who has used Vinyl Chickie as her DJ name — speed-educated herself on the ins and outs of record retail, including acquiring used vinyl from aging and sometime deceased collectors.

“I’ve created my music community,” she said. “People come in constantly and say, ‘Glenside needed this.’ And that’s so cool. It’s like instant gratification every single day.”

Schaffer photographed Robert at events like his induction to the Philly Music Alliance Walk of Fame in 2019 and the Rolling Stones show at Lincoln Financial Field in 2024.

She has also taken pictures of Robert’s favorite Philly band, the Hooters, including the cover for their 2023 album Rocking & Swing.

In December, she heard from Dallyn Pavey Uosikkinen, Robert’s close friend who is married to Hooters drummer David Uosikkinen and is acting as an intermediary for Robert’s family and estate.

“I got a text at like 7 a.m., asking me if I wanted to make an offer on the collection. I said, ‘I’ll be there tomorrow.’”

Going up the driveway to Robert’s house in Gladwyne “was just super sad.” Schaffer was wowed by the mid-century modern home, which was “like a music shrine.”

The collection was mainly “promo records and unopened things. Stuff that was gifted to him, like a Soundgarden album signed by Chis Cornell.”

Her offer was accepted by Robert’s family, and she drove off with the collection that seems small for such a lifelong music lover.

“His favorite stuff was at the studio,” she said. “He listened to records all day on the radio.”

Schaffer is ready for a crowd on Saturday morning. Federal Donuts and local Glenside eatery Humpty’s Dumplings food trucks will be on site, and free Rival Brothers coffee will be served.

Purchases will be limited to two items per person, with Schaffer’s helpers aiding in moving customers in from the front and out the back door. Prices range from $8 for a big band record Schaffer believes belonged to Robert’s parents, to $250 for a Prince Purple Rain box set.

The silent auction items including signed albums by Dr. Demento and 1980s Philly synth-pop band The Vels — “are priceless,” Schaffer says.

She says she’s honored to be involved in sharing a piece of the legacy of a legendary Philly DJ.

Robert was “like magic,” she said. “Every time you’d see him. The way he interacted with people, the way fans were so excited to interact with him. It was just such pure joy — such pure love of music.”

Vinyl Chickie, 2256 Mount Carmel Ave, Glenside. The sale of “From the Collection of Pierre Robert” begins at 10 a.m. Saturday. The inventory is listed at VinylChickie.com.