DeKalb Musician’s Supply Moving Sale
Decatur Metro | July 27, 2009Jonathan writes in to let us know that DeKalb Musician’s Supply at 113 Clairemont is having an “impressive moving sale starting today (Monday, 7/27) and running throughout the week. Everything in the store is 40% off.”
Not to sound completely dense, but are they really moving? They’re one of the “old guard” of Decatur businesses along the Clairemont strip. The city truly won’t be the same without their store, crammed to the doorstop with musical instruments and parts.
Good sale though.
UPDATE: According to their website, the same 40% sale also applies at neighboring Emile Baran. Are they moving too?
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Has anyone ever understood the relationship bewtween these two side-by-side music stores? The one time I tried to rent an instrument for school at DeKalb Musician’s Supply, I found the service and the contact offered pretty weak. But maybe that was an aberration.
The two stores are owned by Emile Baran and have been in Decatur for decades. One(Dekalb music) sells band instruments like guitars, amps, trumpets, flutes, saxophones and such. The other(Emile Baran) sells Violins, Violas, Cellos, and Upright Basses.
They did a nice job repairing a guitar for me a few years ago. Real nice job. My only interaction with them.
The website says it’s a summer clearance sale – I don’t see anything about it being a moving sale!
Having been part of the service at Dekalb Musician’s Supply Co., Inc. for three years out of five (1999, 2003-2005), perhaps I can shed a little light on what’s going on. For those interested, I was one of the various sales associates.
The owner of both stores, Mr. Emil William (Bill) Baran used to own all three buildings that were in half of the strip. Starting from the end of the strip there was the Violin shop, now Decatur Jewelers. In the mid-to-late 90’s Bill sold the entire building to Brett, the owner of the Jewelry shop that had been on the other end of the strip. The violin shop (a separate business, same owner) moved into the building that had housed the drum shop. All of the drums were moved into a storage room in the back of Dekalb Music.
Dekalb Music was and has been in the current location since . . . I believe the early-to-mid 70’s. This is the third location of the business. The first was near the old Ice house and the tire store, the second was located where the new courthouse is.
A few years ago, Bill finally sold the stores while maintaining the right to lease the space from the current owner for x amount of years. I’m guessing that the lease will be up soon. Also, Bill is 88, 89? He may be simply getting rid of the copious amount of old stock that’s built up over 50 years of doing business.
Whenever pressed about what the relationship between the stores is, Bill says that everyone likes buying or renting a band instrument from “Bill,” but people are skeptical about buying a violin from him. On the other hand, people will gladly buy a violin from “Emile.”
And I did not misspell his name the first time I typed it. On his birth certificate, he is “Emil,” but the spelling is a little unusual, so the business name is “Emile Baran.”
Great insight. Thanks David!
We are moving very soon to a nearby location. Please come by and buy up all this gear so we don’t have to move it all!
Do you have bongos?
Yes, they have bongos there – a couple of different kinds too.
Yes, Dekalb Musician’s Supply has been there forever – and also is taken for granted that it will remain forever, too. I’ve purchased instruments and countless saxophone and clarinet reeds throughout my kids’ band years at Clairemont, Renfroe and DHS. I also rely on their guitar ‘maestro’ for advice, lessons and repairs. Please support this quirky stalwart. There are some great deals right now!
[...] Shared DeKalb Musician’s Supply Moving Sale [...]
Thanks to the notice on this blog, I bought a beautiful Eastman archtop guitar at Dekalb Musicians Supply today for an incredibly good deal. I’m giddy!