In Pittsburgh PA, following 34 years of bringing in the leading names in music for events, recordings and more, including Michael Jackson’s own band, Swissvale Music Store shuttered at the end of February and moved to Irwin, according to a story reported by foresthills-regentsquare.patch.com. In the original report, Owner Gary Scott was quoted as having said, “We have been talking about it for a long time and should have done it three years ago, but we kept having faith that the economy would turn around. We were hoping the retail would pick up and it just didn’t.”
Born and raised in Swissvale, Scott noted that the move was bittersweet. He and his business partner, Raymond Falcsik, opened the store during the summer of 1978 when they were in their late 20s. When the contracting division of the business, which had been the most robust part of the business all along, began to slow, they decided to evaluate their options.
“The economy affects everyone,” the story quoted Scott as having said. “Most of our contracting business were churches and schools, and they all cut back. The schools have cut way back in the arts.” They were packed and out of the store by the end of February, with a transition last month to empty out the old building and remodel the new one, which is located at 327 Main St. in Irwin. The business also has a new name: Main Street Music and Sound.
For the move, the owners teamed up with a company that has more than 100 students already studying music. In the new store, there will be seven lesson cubicles for piano, voice, drums, guitar, bass, brass and woodwind instruments. Losing students at Swissvale Music Store affected the business greatly. While once it had a total of 120 students, it had 10 at the closing of its former location. Scott said both the economy and changes in the neighborhood caused that issue to become severe.
The retail floor will be smaller at the new store, the article reported. Guitar service repairs and electronic repairs will continue at the new location, as well.