Tiffin native turns love of music into business

TIFFIN, OHIO – September 28, 2021 – The owner of a small business is taking his love of music to the next step, by moving up from the back of another business to his own storefront in Downtown Tiffin.

Jacob Wheeler, a Tiffin native and graduate of Columbian High School, had been selling records in the back of Line Drive since July, but plans to soon open his own underground record store, Under the Surface, in October at 16 E. Market St. The store will specialize in independent label releases and demos.

Wheeler said his friends from high school introduced him to music, and they then in turn spent time bringing bands into Tiffin in his youth. He wants to have a way to reach youth about this genre and style of music.

“I love being in Downtown Tiffin and wanted to give people a reason to stay here and appreciate the strong sense of community in this town. I’m excited to be able to expand my offerings and have a home here in Tiffin for independent and underground music,” Wheeler said.

Tiffin Mayor Aaron Montz commented, “Congratulations to Jacob Wheeler on expanding his business to a storefront in Downtown. I’m excited to see people investing in our community.”

For more information, call (567) 268-9278 or email underthesurfacerecords@gmail.com.

About Downtown Tiffin

The revitalization of downtown Tiffin began in 2011, when a group of community members came together to for “Tiffin Tomorrow”, with the goal of promoting and encouraging economic development in downtown Tiffin, and creating plans, programs and actions to ensure long-term vitality and prosperity. In 2014, the city of Tiffin contracted with SIEDC to act as the downtown organization and “Tiffin Tomorrow” came under the SIEDC umbrella as the “Downtown Development Committee,” which serves as the governing board of the downtown organization. In 2015, Tiffin joined Heritage Ohio’s Ohio Main Street Program. For more information, click here.