S HINE A LI GHT
Brothers Guitar Shop 316 E. 84th St. New York, NY 10028 646-559-8771 www.brosguitars.com Mon. – Sat. 8 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Sun. 10 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Shawn and Frank Gorelik, Co-Owners
Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of By Michelle Loeb
Shawn Gorelik and his older brother, Frank, have been in the retail business their entire lives. They watched their father run a hardware store that they eventually took over, and went on to open a second shop of their own. The two brothers are also both music lovers. Shawn was a guitar player from a young age, and Frank took it up about four years ago. “Once he learned to play, we were able to jam, and it got a lot more fun,” said Shawn. The worlds of music and retail collided when Shawn and Frank decided to hire an experienced guitar technician named Joey Rodriguez for a position in the family’s hardware stores in 2017. Rodriguez, whom Shawn calls “a brother from another mother,” had previously worked on guitars at Sam Ash, and having that 38
skill on his resumé piqued the brothers’ interest. “We were passionate about guitars and collecting to begin with. One thing led to another, and the next thing you know, we have 50 guitars in the hardware store to repair,” said Frank. “So, the business grew organically.” The repair business flourished in the back of the hardware store, eventually growing to also include buying and selling guitars online. Soon, the music business needed a space of its own. With that, Brothers Guitar Shop was born. The fact that Shawn and Frank sought to open their first MI shop during the height of a global pandemic brought some challenges, as well as some lucky breaks. “We got lucky that, because of the pandemic, rents are so low
right now. We were able to take advantage of that,” said Shawn. The 800-square-foot shop opened on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in November 2020. According to Shawn, the railroadstyle store was an “empty canvas,” and the brothers designed a retro-themed store with 1970sinfluenced flourishes and fixtures that they built themselves. “Our vision is straight from the heart,” he continued. “It’s a representation of ourselves, and that’s really rewarding.” The store’s staff of five includes the Gorelik brothers, Rodriguez (who is now the lead guitar tech), a part-time helper and a part-time social media person. The narrow shop isn’t ideally shaped for social distancing, but the brothers were able to take advantage of a recent New
York City initiative to open up shopping on city streets. “We love street fairs and that kind of atmosphere, so we set up tents outside and applied for outside vending,” said Shawn. “We had a grand opening with a concert outside and held another outdoor concert around Christmas,” added Frank. “We open the door and greet people as they walk by because we want to interact with people on a personal level.” Those who enter the shop find a continuation of that warm, personal atmosphere in what Shawn calls a “stigma-free zone.” “Our customer service philosophy is that anyone who is interested shouldn’t feel awkward coming in,” he continued. “We want to help everyone, whether you have no experience or if you’ve played for 50 years.” MARCH 2021