Member Spotlight - Wonderland

     How many present-day Newarkers can say they have been inside Uncle Billy’s West End Market?  The short answer is none, but what about Wonderland, the county’s landmark music store?  “I can remember when I was a student at U of D, every Friday I would get paid, leave my part time job and walk down Main Street to Wonderland to buy an album.  Each week I would spend $4.50 on new vinyl,” says Mark Kleinschmidt, now president of the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce, but then a University of Delaware undergrad.
     “Wonderland has always been there, I can’t remember Newark without Wonderland,” says Mark Sisk, local attorney and musician.  The store first opened in 1972.  “We hear stories all of the time about how people love this place and remember it from their youth,” says current owner Monica Theodoropoulos.  “Sometimes
people just come in to look around and feel the nostalgia.”
     Before it was Wonderland, it was Uncle Billy’s West End Market.  Proof still hangs in the form of a framed picture inside Wonderland.  “The building is well over 100 years old,” says Monica but it started for her and her husband Demitri six years ago this Halloween, when they reopened Wonderland after purchasing the business from the original owner.  “We bought it in August and took some time to clean and paint.  We reopened October 31 of 2003.”
     It all came about when Monica was told by a friend who managed the store that she should come in to meet the owner and see if he would agree to let her sell her handmade jewelry.  “When I walked in, a big sign said ‘going out of business’ so I called my husband and it was as easy as that.”
     Demitri Theodoropolous signed on immediately.  A mechanical engineer by trade, Demitri was working for ILC in Frederica, Delaware making space suits for NASA - but at his soul, he was a rocker.  Demitri moved to Los Angeles at the height of the “hair band” era and played guitar in the group Medallion.  When the grunge craze hit with Nirvana, the sound of music changed overnight and soon Demitri was back in the First State.            
     Demitri and Monica always knew they would one day own their own business, and the karma aligned in Wonderland.  Monica has a degree in Hotel Restaurant Management so she handles the day to day management.  “Demitri is the music person,” she says.  It shows in the collection of vinyl records.  “We will buy and trade on vinyl.”  CD’s are a different story, “the iPod killed the CD,” Monica states.  “Vinyl is making a huge comeback, our collection is growing by leaps and bounds.”   
     Wonderland is more than music on vinyl or plastic.  “We have a studio that my husband built using his mechanical engineering experience.  We rent it out to local musicians and it is a very good value,” says Monica.  She continues, “Demitri’s sister is an architecture professor so between the two of them, they created a studio with great soundproofing and no vibrations which is incredible as we are only steps from the railroad.  The sound is amazing.”  Demitri adds, “Our mixing board is state of the art, we have one of the first six in a new generation of Korg’s, I know that Herbie Hancock has one, so does Boz Skaggs and Christina Aguilera.” 
     Much of the music made in the Wonderland Studio is sold at Wonderland under the Wonderland Records label.  Monica and Demitri are really excited about the 49ers, a local rock/hiphop duo that recently signed a contract in Japan.  “They are huge in Japan,” Monica claims.  The 49ers have recorded at Wonderland and are about to head to Japan for a country-wide tour.  Marcus Watkins (“Marchitect”), one half of the 49ers is also part of the regional group Fat Daddy Has Been.  Watkins is joined by Jas Mace and at the moment both are Far East bound.  
      Wonderland goes beyond music to offer clothing “cool items like ‘Adult Swim’ gear” and easy fun items like “the long hippie dresses,” Monica states.  They also offer Stash Hats that have a hidden zipper picket above the brim for storing cash and other small valuables.  “We have jewelry, incenses, and a knack for finding the ‘unfindable’ when it comes to music,” Monica states.    
     Monica Theodoropoulos keeps Wonderland ahead of the pack in terms of merchandise.  “The rest of Newark has caught up a bit but we are usually out there in front.  If we don’t have it we can get it and we’ll have some new items very soon.  I have some great catalogs and good distributors,” she says.   “We have some dedicated customers who depend on us.  I think if they would have to go to the mall they would die.”
     “This is a destination for people and they are loyal to us,” Monica says.  She sums up Wonderland, “it’s a landmark.”
     Contact Monica and Demitri Theodoropoulos at Wonderland at 302 738-6856 or visit the store at 110 Main Street in Newark just passed the Deer Park.