Luscombe Under New Ownership; The Legacy Continues in Harmony, with a Few New Twists

If Laura Pearson could pick one thing about her job at Luscombe Music that she likes best, she would say it’s the days a student comes in with their parent to pick out their first musical instrument. 

“They’re all excited about music, and they walk out of here with their instrument,” Pearson said. “That look on their face is just priceless. MasterCard should do a commercial about a child with their first musical instrument.”

As the new owner of Luscombe Music, Pearson can look forward to many moments like that. Pearson assumed ownership of the store after the recent retirement of her parents, Fred and Lucretia Luscombe, who owned and operated the store since 1975.

The store celebrated its grand reopening last week, culminating with an event on Friday complete with food, raffle prizes and live music.

Pearson knows her parents built a legacy that's lasted 36 years, and in this difficult economic climate, being a small business owner is challenging.

“The trend in everything, as we see with Borders closing down, is ordering online,” said Pearson, adding she doesn’t fault a customer who’s looking to save money.

Still, a store can offer things that ordering online can’t provide—namely, customer service, Pearson said.

“I think my dad was always very concerned about helping the customer to know exactly what it is they need,” she said. “Even if they didn’t buy something here, they understood what they needed to do next. He never wanted to just sell something to make a buck. He wanted to make sure it was what they needed.” 

And, like a bookstore, a music store gives customers that experience of browsing the shelves and holding the product in hand, she said.

“I think people do enjoy coming in and seeing the music,” she said. “Sometimes teachers come here when other teachers are here and you’ll find that they start sharing ideas. Or they’ll say, ‘This piece is really great.’ You can’t get that when you order online.”

Small Beginnings

Growing up, Pearson recalls her parents teaching private music lessons out of their home.

“People were asking, ‘Could you get this for me? Could you get that for me?' And that was the natural transition into, ‘Maybe we should have a store,' ” Pearson said. 

The first location for Luscombe Music was a tiny storefront on Grantley, across the street from Arby’s.

“They used to have a little metal box, and that was their cash register that they carried back and forth,” Pearson said. “The store had two studio rooms, and basically, if there were four people in the store, it was crowded.”

As the business grew, Luscombe Music moved to south Elmhurst, just a few doors down from the current storefront. It was bigger than the one on Grantley, but not as large as the store today. The added square footage allowed Lucretia to begin teaching group and private Suzuki violin lessons.

Today, Luscombe Music fills two adjoining storefronts and has seven teaching studios in the basement. Although the store no longer offers Suzuki, the largest of the rooms is used for Music Together, a popular early childhood music program.

The Beat of a Different Drummer 

Pearson is hoping to add her own, personal stamp on the store, while maintaining the integrity of her parents' original vision.

“I’m really hoping to do more group-type activities, or maybe more community involvement by having more workshops or more camps,” said Pearson, referring to the saxophone ensemble camp and flute camp being hosted in the store this summer.

She said she dreams of someday hosting a drum circle or jam session with percussion instruments.

“I just want people to come and have fun with music,” she said. “Even if they just come once, I want them to have a good feeling about it.”

Pearson knows her parents will be just a phone call away if she needs any advice. 

“They’re probably still going to be in and out, imparting their wisdom and helping me with the transition,” she said. “That’s really reassuring to me.

"In the music industry, a lot of the smaller music stores are closing down. [My parents] have done something right, and I hope to tap into that."