Persian rugs and leather sofas. Textured, wooden walls that reflect warm, soft lighting. The kind of place you would want to lounge and drink a cup of coffee in the morning.
When Joe Caruso, owner of The Music Emporium, took over as a partial owner in 2002 and later as full owner in 2018, this was the exact vibe he was going for.
“I think the best retail environments are a reflection of the things that the owner or the people who work there love,” said Caruso. “I want to come here, and I want it to feel just like when I go home.”
It started in 1968 at an art gallery in Pittsburgh, PA. A second shop, in Cambridge’s Harvard Square, became a gathering place for musicians in the 1970s. Ever since coming to Lexington in 1994, The Music Emporium has made its name known on a national level.
Caruso has found value in having an inviting local storefront even though 50 to 70 percent of sales take place online.
“It shaped more of my life and my involvement in the community,” he said.
Caruso credits Bill McKibben’s book, Deep Economy, for inspiring his passion for local business. McKibben is an author, activist, and Lexington High School graduate.
“Whenever [people] decide to shop with locally owned businesses, the money we spend gets recirculated within our community,” he said, pointing to benefits like improved community health, reduced environmental impact, and greater civic engagement.
Caruso always wanted to learn how to play the guitar growing up.
“I love the image that the guitarist conveys,” he said. “Guitarists want to be visible.”
When listening to rock music as a teenager, Caruso would land the needle of his record player on the part of the song he wanted to learn and repeat it until he had absorbed the tune.
“When you’re a skinny, nerdy kid in high school, you’re looking to, in any way you can, open up social doors,” said Caruso. That same yearning for connection helped shape his shop.
“I need to encourage and grow a community of people who love music, love guitars, and they need to be able to come in here and feel like they’re welcome,” he said. “They don’t have to be anything. They don’t have to buy anything. But they should feel restored.”
True to its name, this store once sold a little bit of everything: tin whistles, Irish flutes, bagpipes, and even didgeridoos, an ancient wind instrument that was developed in northern Australia over 1,000 years ago. But guitars have always been the essence of the business.
As online retail continues to shape the industry, survival means narrowing your business for a select, dedicated population, Caruso explained.
“You start to sort of hone in on what you love, and what do people want, and ‘how are you gonna differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack?’” said Caruso. Without carrying every single guitar, he wanted this business to supply the best products at every price point. The selection is carefully curated with brands like Martin, Taylor, Atkin, and Fender, which Caruso said have stood the test of time.
“I’m into supporting companies that are artists and have a labor force that’s taken care of,” he said.
Pointing to the guitars on his office walls, Caruso noted, “these guitars, called acoustic guitars or flat-top guitars, that’s an American creation. That’s what the roots of this store are, and that’s what I want to carry.”
The store once carried only acoustic guitars, but its expansion into electric guitars in 2006 gave The Music Emporium a firmer foothold in the market. The shop also carries mandolins, banjos, ukuleles, amps, pedals and other accessories.
This same attention to authenticity carries over onto the business’ website.
“There’s an art form to that,” Caruso said, crediting the how the website looks to one of his employees who enjoys photography. The site features videos of musicians performing in the store and the natural texture and fibers of the wood.
Asked what has kept him in this business for all these years, Caruso’s answer has nothing to do with revenue. He says good retail comes down to loving the people who come through the door.
Caruso thinks the community that The Music Emporium offers is what will keep it alive in the age of online shopping.
“There’s always gonna be a place for good retail and craftsmanship,” he said. “Whether it’s whiskey, cars, or watches, I’m confident that we’ll be here.”