The record store business has brought Princeton Record Exchange owner Jon Lambert both his career and his wife.

Jon and Cynthia Myles Lambert met decades ago while working at different record stores in Lawrence Township’s Quaker Bridge Mall. After meeting at a mutual friend’s house party, Cynthia began giving Jon rides home from work. Rides turned into dates, which ultimately led to marriage.

Today, the 62-year-old Lambert has worked in the record store business for more than 45 years and is approaching his 10th year as the owner of PREX.

“To have a place I can come to here and enact my vision of what I think a store should be is very gratifying,” Lambert said at the store on March 27.

Lambert chooses to be at PREX during most of its open hours. He finds joy and satisfaction in the little things he has done his whole life — pricing merchandise, helping customers, and working with his staff. His friendly demeanor and dedication to the store have made Lambert a familiar face in historic downtown Princeton.

“I like talking to the people,” Lambert said. “And meeting the people.”

Lambert has worked at PREX for 37 years. After spending time at other record stores, he discovered PREX and started out as a clerk. He then worked his way up to general manager and eventually to owner.

PREX has a track record of retaining employees — a legacy that has continued under both Lambert and former owner Barry Weisfeld. Nine of the store’s current employees, including Lambert, have worked at PREX for more than 30 years.

Store manager Joshua Saunders, who has been at PREX for about 18 years, attributes the strong employee retention to Lambert’s ability to manage “a lot of strange personalities.”

Long-playing record manager Rob Gettis has 11 years of experience at the store. He said Lambert is “very mellow and understanding, and a good guy who is super easy to work for.”

Lambert’s success follows what he described as a “tumultuous childhood filled with all sorts of nasty stuff.”

The PREX owner was born to artistic parents in Hopewell. When he was 5 years old, his family moved to Princeton, where his parents later separated.

Lambert lived with his mother while attending Princeton High School, where he became a National Merit Scholar semifinalist. The day after learning he had made it to the semifinals, Lambert dropped out of school.

At age 17, he moved out of his mother’s house and rented a place with friends. To make ends meet, he took a bus to his mall jobs for about two years. He eventually earned his GED, but by then he had already found his calling — record stores.

“[PREX] just feels really comfortable, like a little microcosm of sanity and courtesy, which it’s a little difficult to find these days,” Lambert said.

Lambert and his 17 staff members are currently preparing for PREX’s busiest day of the year: Record Store Day. Taking place on April 12, the event offers special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products made exclusively available at independently owned brick-and-mortar record stores worldwide.

“Every year it’s pretty amazing,” Lambert said.

The owner expects as many as 2,000 people to attend PREX on Record Store Day. In past years, the event drew crowds so large that a line stretched from the store to Witherspoon Street.

Saunders has worked multiple Record Store Days at PREX. He recalls people waiting in line starting at 5 p.m. the day before — 12 to 13 hours just to spend 10 minutes digging through boxes of merchandise.

“They’re very happy,” Saunders said of the crowds. “They’re making friends with other people in line. It’s amazing.”

Lambert believes the event is important because it highlights the charm of independent record stores.

“It’s satisfying, it’s exciting and it’s challenging,” Lambert said. “I like to feel we have something special here, and that makes me feel great.”

For more information about Record Story Day, visit the PREX website.