There's a new little nook in Cebu vinyl and cassette enthusiasts would love to call home.

These days, shops and venues have been shutting down left and right due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. A lot of them have turned to going online—through e-commerce and online gigs—in order to get by. It's been a heartbreaking ordeal for everyone, but things don't have to be so dire when the whole world is a mess.

Enter Baihaus, a tiny analog music store tucked away in Lapu-Lapu City, Mactan. They cater to music fans looking for a cool and laid-back spot to hang out over sweet jams and good times.

Bandwagon caught up with Dino Domingo and Jay Anzano, the people behind Baihaus, to talk about what it's like building a new business during a pandemic, what sets their shop apart from the rest, and the safety precautions they're observing in these trying times.

Opening any new business is a huge risk, more so in a pandemic. What made you decide to open a record store at this time?

I always wanted to have a small chill spot where I can have friends over who dig the same type of music as mine just sound-tripping and enjoying having drinks in a somewhat laid-back, old-school/vintage environment.  But I never expected this to be realized at this time when lives and businesses would somehow be in a halt because of this world health crisis that we are in right now.

Guess it’s also great timing since I still have lots of stuff from our quarterly Garage Day events at Draft Punk resto-bar in Cebu City where I sell vinyl records, cassette tapes, CDs and the like.

So, I thought of my good pal to partner with me in this business. I’m grateful that DIY master Jay Anzano, who I shared the same passion and taste in this project for the trust and confidence he puts up in doing this venture.

We live in the same city so it was easier for us to move around in putting up building this project even with the pandemic risks but still taking precautionary health measures.

Business is always associated with risk.  This pandemic brought us a lot of uncertainty but also taught us to survive and be creative. Passion and being with the right circle of friends in the right place pursued us to create a small community to build Baihaus with a mostly DIY process.

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How did you get into music? Were vinyl records the first music format you were exposed to?

I grew up listening to Mom’s music, Roger Williams, The Beatles, and The Carpenters being played on the phonograph and started collecting more of it when I had the capacity of the luxury to afford vinyl records for a number of years now.  

Jay, on the other hand, was exposed to vinyl records during the plaza event in their province of Bohol where he’d be amused watching the music operator (vinyl music DJ) played music for the “diskoral/baile” as what we call it in our native dialect in the Visayas for a dance event.  

Listening music on the radio and joining an alternative band in his younger years influenced his love for music and vinyl records sparked when he started appreciating and collecting vintage stuff.  Things like these reminded us of our happy younger years.

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What's the first record you ever bought with your own money? What's the last record you bought?

Dino: The first record I bought back with my saved allowance back in 6^th grade was The Cure's standing on the beach and the last record I bought recently was Foliage's Take.

Jay: First two records bought – 12” single from A Perfect Circle – Counting bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums and The Police's Ghost in the Machine. Last record I got was a 7” Soup Dragon – Divine Thing.

What are your Top 3 records of all time?

Dino: The Smiths - Hatful of Hollow, Cocteau Twins – Milk and Kisses, Moose – XYZ.

Jay: Singles original motion picture soundtrack, Tool - Aenima, Soundgarden – 25^th Anniversary Edition Album.

Tell us about your new store, Baihaus. What sets it apart from other record stores?

The name Baihaus is inspired by the '70-'80s post-punk band Bauhaus but [we] gave it a Cebuano twist and changed bau to 'Bai' which means "friend". 
 
Baihaus is a music hub, which caters mostly to analog and vinyl record collectors set in a retro and vintage ambience with a mini kombi chill bar where they can also relax listening to old-school music while digging records.  It is a small place with a big heart poured with labour of love.  A cool place with a personal touch from the 2 bearded men who love music. 

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Since physical contact is limited these days, how do you enforce safety precautions at your store? Do you have an online store?

We follow strict health protocols mandated by the government. We limit guests so we encourage them to contact us for reservations especially if they intend to stay longer to chill at our place.

Our goal is to create a small community within our City of Lapu Lapu on the island of Mactan where we don’t need to travel outside our island just to get to the neighbouring cities of Mandaue or Cebu to chill and unwind where most music lounges and big chill spots are located especially for our residents here.

We don’t have an online store.  We prefer they come to our physical store, feel the old –school music vibe and chill.

BAIHAUS is located at The Runway Arcade, Pakpakan Rd., Brgy. Basak, Lapu-Lapu City, Mactan, Cebu.

Their shop is open from 3-10 p.m. on Tuesday-Friday and 1-10 p.m. on Saturday-Sunday.

Follow BAIHAUS on Instagram.