Grand River Music to expand from on-line business to a brick-and-mortar store in Eastown

Sharon Hanks

Terry Poe, owner of the successful Grand River Music online business, is preparing to play to a new kind of customer. He's reaching out to the retail crowd by expanding his cyber business to a brick-and-mortar company situated in a renovated building in Eastown.

Poe plans to begin selling his guitars, basses, mandolins and amplifiers on June 1 to customers he can greet in person at 1533 Wealthy St. SE in Grand Rapids. The store once occupied by the Camera Shop is west of the Jimmy Johns sub shop in the same building.

"We'll be adding all of the little things a guitarist needs, including strings, cables, straps and assorted accessories," says Poe, a guitarist himself for more than 30 years.

To prepare for the opening, the entrepreneur has been busy moving almost 300 musical instruments from a warehouse on Oak Industrial Drive NE to his new 1,200 square-foot space. He intends to maintain the virtual side of Grand River Music which he started from the ground up two years ago.

"What sets me apart is that I will not compete with other music stores (in the area) because I specialize in 'B' stock," Poe says, adding his merchandise is new, but has a minor cosmetic flaw, such as a slight scratch or stain applied in the wrong place. "Half of the time, I can't even find the flaw," he says, but the defect makes them more affordable to musicians without sacrificing the quality of music.

Poe says he buys directly from manufacturers throughout the country, selling their products worldwide at a price nearly 40 percent less than suggested retail.

Before starting Grand River Music, Poe and two other partners launched bargainbookstores.com, another online business, which he sold to his partners seven years later to start up his music business.

Poe expects to be hiring a few part-time employees in the near future.

Source: Terry Poe, owner of Grand River Music, Grand Rapids

Sharon Hanks is innovations and jobs news editor at Rapid Growth Media. Please send story ideas and comments for the column to Sharon at [email protected]. She also is owner of The Write Words in Grand Rapids.