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Chuck Levin's--A D.C.-Area Institution--Turns 60
They're out in Wheaton, next to the Metrorail station. I've passed it on the bus a few times, but I've never been inside.
Chuck Levin's—A D.C.-Area Institution—Turns 60
Six decades in, Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center thrives in the modern retail environment.
SRIRAM GOPAL OCT 4, 2018 11 AM
The experience of walking into Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center—known to patrons as simply “Chuck’s”—has not changed in years. The staff, many of whom have worked the floor for decades, still write sales tickets by hand. There are no clean lines or trendy lighting in the space. The colors are rather drab, save for the instruments on display. The overall feeling is one of organized chaos. And yet, after six decades, people still come.
This year marks this local institution’s 60th anniversary, and it’s an example of an independent retail operation that is not only surviving in the face of big box stores and web retailers, but is thriving. Chuck’s is commemorating 60 years in its own unique way. Rather than just a series of events, a number of partner manufacturers are making limited edition instruments stamped with special logos and features, all available on the showroom floor. Most notable is an exact recreation of the “Big Chuck” wah-wah pedal, a piece of equipment sold in the ’70s that has now become part of Chuck’s lore.
“There are certain tweaks we’ve had to do, obviously, but for the most part, we’re a big dinosaur,” says Alan Levin, whose parents opened up shop in 1958. “What we do, we do really well.”
Charles “Chuck” Levin opened the original location at 12th and H streets NE, and staffed it along with his wife, Marge. The two had been in the pawn shop business prior and dealt with musical instruments and musicians regularly before shifting their focus on musical equipment in their new venture. Their children—brothers Alan and Robert, as well as sister Abbe—also entered the family business as they came of age, starting at the bottom and working their way up, as their father felt it necessary to teach them every aspect of the business.
....
Six decades in, Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center thrives in the modern retail environment.
SRIRAM GOPAL OCT 4, 2018 11 AM
The experience of walking into Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center—known to patrons as simply “Chuck’s”—has not changed in years. The staff, many of whom have worked the floor for decades, still write sales tickets by hand. There are no clean lines or trendy lighting in the space. The colors are rather drab, save for the instruments on display. The overall feeling is one of organized chaos. And yet, after six decades, people still come.
This year marks this local institution’s 60th anniversary, and it’s an example of an independent retail operation that is not only surviving in the face of big box stores and web retailers, but is thriving. Chuck’s is commemorating 60 years in its own unique way. Rather than just a series of events, a number of partner manufacturers are making limited edition instruments stamped with special logos and features, all available on the showroom floor. Most notable is an exact recreation of the “Big Chuck” wah-wah pedal, a piece of equipment sold in the ’70s that has now become part of Chuck’s lore.
“There are certain tweaks we’ve had to do, obviously, but for the most part, we’re a big dinosaur,” says Alan Levin, whose parents opened up shop in 1958. “What we do, we do really well.”
Charles “Chuck” Levin opened the original location at 12th and H streets NE, and staffed it along with his wife, Marge. The two had been in the pawn shop business prior and dealt with musical instruments and musicians regularly before shifting their focus on musical equipment in their new venture. Their children—brothers Alan and Robert, as well as sister Abbe—also entered the family business as they came of age, starting at the bottom and working their way up, as their father felt it necessary to teach them every aspect of the business.
....