Guitar Works, longtime fixture in Evanston, closing after nearly 50 years in business
EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) -- Guitar Works, a longtime Main Street fixture and resource for musicians in north suburban Evanston, is closing its doors after decades in business.
Owner Terry Straker opened the guitar shop in 1979. Over the years, Guitar Works became a place to buy, play and repair instruments, serving both established musicians and beginners.
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"I like to treat everybody the same, you know? Whether it's a big-time guy or a kid," Straker said.
Straker said his work occasionally brought memorable instruments to his repair table. After the death of Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia, one of Garcia's guitars came into the shop.
"Roadie puts it up on the repair table and I go (gasps), he goes, 'you know what that is?' I go, 'I know exactly what that is. It just sold at Christie's for a million bucks,'" Straker said.
Straker said the business changed as more customers turned to online shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he continued to believe customers should experience a guitar before buying it.
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"Me, I'm gonna buy a guitar. I would not think about buying it mail-order," Straker said. "You want to play it. You want to feel it; you want to hear it."
More recently, Straker said tariffs have made entry-level instruments more expensive, making it harder to sell guitars to beginners.
"All the low-end stuff that the rookies start out with all doubled in price, and it made it difficult to sell a rookie guitar," he said.
Customers have stopped by to wish Straker well and purchase what remains of the shop's inventory.
Katherine Gotsick of the Main Dempster Mile Merchants Association said the closing will leave a void in the area.
"His employees have been with him for decades. They are faces you see every day. It will be sad not to see those faces anymore," Gotsick said.
Straker said there are potential buyers for the property. He said he hopes the next owner will have many years of success as he did.
