Article: Mandolin Brothers Seeking New Owner

[Scott Tichenor]

You can view the page at http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/content.php?162-Mandolin-Brothers-Seek-New-Owner

[theCOOP]

Alison Jay: It took us awhile to really figure out what was going to happen. Stan didn't have a plan for a time that he wouldn't be here running the store, so when he got sick we tried to keep things going as normal as can be.

Let this be a lesson to business owners, talk to your insurance broker about Key-Person coverage.

[MikeEdgerton]

The bigger problem will be finding someone with the knowledge to run the place that has the money to buy it. There are people that have managed to transition the loss of the founder (think First Quality) but they rarely end up looking like they did.

[PJ Doland]

I can't help wondering if they've considered moving off Staten Island. I know people who have lived in New York City their entire lives and never bothered to go there.

[MikeEdgerton]

I can't help wondering if they've considered moving off Staten Island. I know people who have lived in New York City their entire lives and never bothered to go there.

There are people I know in Manhattan that have never been to New Jersey or Brooklyn either. You can't base it on that. The majority of their customers were going to travel to go there no matter where they were from. The other boros as well as Staten Island have a large population but I'm guessing the bulk of the sales weren't necessarily from the city.

[Petrus]

I'd pick Lower East Side / East Village if it were up to me. Ridiculously expensive these days, but so is Staten Island.

[jnikora]

A really fine and revealing interview.

I traveled from Wisconsin twice to the "city" and took detours both times to Staten Island to see Mandolin Bros. - an institution whose ads I have watched, mailings I have received, incredible instruments I have played, former personnel's exploits I have followed and stories about which I have heard for decades. I was treated with absolute respect and dignity there. Questions were always answered honestly and "secret" stashes of "Ferns" and other treasures were revealed.

Eric and Allison are as honest and forthcoming as their Dad, though nobody quite has his linguistic flair. I certainly hope they can find someone to carry on - it is a one-of-a-kind institution and its closing will be all of our loss.

Best of luck!

Jim

[theCOOP]

I've been to Staten Island three times. All in the same night while lost, driving frantically around Manhattan in late August 2000 after seeing RENT.

Girlfriend, crying:"would you stop so I can figure where we are?"
Me: "I'm not stopping because I don't know where we are!"

[MikeEdgerton]

When I first moved to the NYC Metropolitan area 35 years ago or so from Oregon there wasn't a thing called a GPS. The first thing I did was buy all the Boro maps for NYC, the county maps for Long Island, North New Jersey, Westchester, and Southern Connecticut. This area isn't someplace you want to go without a GPS and a little knowledge of the geography.

[AlanN]

When my grandmother on my mother's side passed away in 1977, she left me and my two brothers $1,000 each. The next summer, I headed down the New Jersey Turnpike to MB and purchased my first vintage mandolin, a ca. early 60's Gibson A-40, for $325.00; top painted white, no case - still have it, the receipt and accompanying letter from Stan (in Stan-speak). The Goethal's Bridge toll was probably $1.50.

I hope the family realizes its desires.

[Oliver A.]

It was a pleasure to deal with Stan. I used to read his monthly newsletter as much for the entertainment value as the education in vintage fretted instruments. It was a very big thrill for me whenever Stan wrote a description of one of my mandolins in there. It will be very difficult to find someone who can run Mandolin Bros. with the personality that Stan gave it.

I wish his family all the best in this difficult time.

[theCOOP]

The last time I crossed the bridge the toll guy charged us $20 for directions...we were still lost for some time.

We got into Manhattan easy enough from slightly upstate (Saugerties KOA Campground?), though we entered through Harlem unintentionally by way of the Bronx, passing Yankee Stadium on our left. Shortly after crossing g one of the bridges we turned left from a surface road onto a boulevard in Harlem and drove straight up to near Bryant Part, leaving the car at a parking garage (with car elevator) on some side street. Somehow when left, we ended up in Long Island instead of heading North.

Crossed Brooklyn Bridge two or three times. Ended up at Newark airport and of course, Staten Island. I wish now that we had a GPS, if only to track where we had been over the course of three to four hours.

Same trip we got lost in Boston too during the height of the Big Dig, lost in Buffalo briefly and Toronto briefly. Otherwise, we unintentionally bypassed Montreal on the way back home.

[delsbrother]

Note to self: Never drive with theCOOP.

[EdHanrahan]

In my six or eight visits over the past 20 years, I probably spent a total of less than an an hour actually talking to Stan. But he had such a talent for making his customers feel like friends that you just had to like him. And advice? More than once he came up with a recommendation that was so out of left field, or at least off my radar, that my first reaction was a (mental) "Ya gotta be kiddin'!"... except that he proved to be spot on! Can't believe how much I miss him.

[barney 59]

It isn't clear to me that a new owner would have to move to another building or not. I'd keep it where it is if possible if I was going to try and retain Mandolin Bros. to resemble what it was under Stan. I found it easy to find personally-take the ferry get on the bus and in a few blocks your there. It's worked for decades! What I find with all these guys Stan Jay, Eric Schoenberg, Stu Cohen etc. is that what they have to sell is their vast amount of knowledge and their networking skills to be able to consistently and continuously have the right stuff in their shops. You can't buy that at any price!

[Scott Tichenor]

Crane's New York Business picks up the story. Not a lot new to learn but well written, as we'd expect.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20151101/SMALLBIZ/311019992/storied-staten-island-guitar-store-preparing-to-play-out-the-string

[MoreMando]

I'm a life-long Manhattanite who has been to Staten Island more times than I can count, but I only heard of Mandolin Brothers a few years ago when a friend who lives there mentioned them -- and yes I've also been to New Jersey and the other boroughs.

We used to have numerous music shops here in Manhattan. Nowadays not as many. Matty Umanov is my local shop for strings, picks, etc. My guess is the majority of Mandolin Brothers' clients are serious musicians who are more than willing to pay the tolls and navigate the route.

Moving to the Village, East Village, Lower East Side or Williamsburg could be interesting. They'd probably get a lot more people walking in off the street, which they may or may not, consider a good thing.

[EdHanrahan]

... My guess is the majority of Mandolin Brothers' clients are serious musicians who are more than willing to pay the tolls and navigate the route.

"Serious" musicians sort of implies "professional"; I'd make that "enthusiastic", because the majority really are hobbyists.

In an article several years ago, Stan compared his customers with those of realtors. While a realtor may require pay stubs, bank statements, and maybe tax returns to "qualify" a potential customer, Stan figured that anyone who can find their way to his door (a not especially inviting one, at that) is "qualified" to enter and be his guest, try out some instruments, and, hopefully, become a customer. If not today, maybe the next time.

[MoreMando]

On the local cable news channel
http://www.ny1.com/nyc/staten-island/news/2015/11/7/family-run-guitar-store-on-staten-island-may-soon-go-out-of-business.html

[MikeEdgerton]

I don't think the Staten Island location hurt Stan's business. There is something to be said also for the local business he had as a local music store. Stan Jay prospered in the location and moving to Manhattan would be a huge raise in the overhead of the shop that I doubt would be made up in additional business beyond what he had. The bigger problem is that there aren't a whole lot of Stan Jay's out there, and anyone of his caliber is probably already in business doing something. It's also hard to get out of the shadow of your larger than life parent and Stan really was larger than life. I hope they find an angel.

[fifths]

And in the NY Times today

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/23/nyregion/mandolin-brothers-on-staten-island-angles-for-graceful-exit.html?ref=nyregion&_r=0