duluthdan Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Sad news... the Two Old Hippies guitar shop in Aspen is closing Sept 15th. This is about 1/2 block fom where I work, and was often a good mid-day respite. The store is owned by Tom and Molly Bedell - Tom is on the board of NAMM, and the owner of Bedell and Breedlove Guitars. These walls used to be full of Martins, Breedloves, Santa Cruz and Bourgeois guitars, nearly all high-end stuff. Liquidated most of the inventory at 30% off, then at cost - all thats left are handfuls, and a couple of really nice custom Martins that will be shipped to their flagship store in Nashville. I have bought 4 guitars here over 7 years, don't still have nary a one - gave two away - and traded two. The town here and the market is too small to expect another operator to step in, ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 This is very sad, but I think you're right, no one will step into that business there. Don't know too much about Aspen except that around this city is one of the most famous and most expensive skiing regions of the world. For sure the people living here would have the money, but not the interest. It is the same here in Germany, too, that big shops are in big cities, with the exception of Thomann who employs 980 people in a small village with 460 inhabitants. By the way, famous skiing regions here luckily are a bit more on a budget since my son loves to ski the Garlant, World Cup downhill run in Lenggries, and the Kandahar, World Cup downhill run in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, twin city with Aspen/Colorado. These locations are 25 kilometers (approx. 16 miles) resp. 63 kilometers (approx. 40 miles) away from the village we live. My divorced wife and me don't like skiing at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted September 2, 2013 Author Share Posted September 2, 2013 By the way, famous skiing regions here luckily are a bit more on a budget since my son loves to ski the Garlant, World Cup downhill run in Lenggries, and the Kandahar, World Cup downhill run in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, twin city with Aspen/Colorado. These locations are 25 kilometers (approx. 16 miles) resp. 63 kilometers (approx. 40 miles) away from the village we live. My divorced wife and me don't like skiing at all... I have visited Garmisch-Partenkirchen, but in the summer! Don't know if I would attempt to ski the famous Kandahar - maybe in my younger racing days. Aspen itself is a town of perhaps 4,000, which enjoys a world class ski mountain right at our doorstep = I've lietrally been able to glide on my skis all the way to the office on days when I would take a long lunch to ski, The gondola is only 3 blocks away. Over the past few years, as I have aged, the guitar shop saw more of my free time than the ski runs did. Gonna miss that place. Now the decent guitar stores are going to be 3 hours away in Denver - a six hour round trip I do perhaps twice a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 I have visited Garmisch-Partenkirchen, but in the summer! Don't know if I would attempt to ski the famous Kandahar - maybe in my younger racing days. Aspen itself is a town of perhaps 4,000, which enjoys a world class ski mountain right at our doorstep = I've lietrally been able to glide on my skis all the way to the office on days when I would take a long lunch to ski, The gondola is only 3 blocks away. Over the past few years, as I have aged, the guitar shop saw more of my free time than the ski runs did. Gonna miss that place. Now the decent guitar stores are going to be 3 hours away in Denver - a six hour round trip I do perhaps twice a year. I understand you very well. When I was a young student in Munich, the most important music shop there indeed was named music shop and was under one roof with the European Gibson distributor ISO that time. It took me five minutes to go there via subway from the university, and my student ticket included these trips up to an arbitrary number. I spent next to all of my free time there checking out guitars. Three of my six instrument purchases in the 1980s I did there, and bought three amps, about a dozen of stomp boxes now collecting dust, my vocal amp & speakers that still work since 34 years... Now the shop is eight times as big, belongs to the just music chain retailers, but if I want something special, I have to buy via web or to go by car to Thomann, single route about 287 kilometers or ca. 178 miles what may take 3 hours, too. Awesome that you know Garmisch-Partenkirchen personally. It can be nice there in summer as well as in winter. I think this might also apply to Aspen? There are not so many people on the world who can go to work by ski - you are the first person I heard of this. As for the closing of the Two Old Hippies shop, I hope you will find another place worth to stay a while when you have free time to spend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted September 2, 2013 Author Share Posted September 2, 2013 Ich bin ein Kaertner! My father is from Arnoldstein, near Villach. I have been lucky enough to have visited there a number of times, summer and winter, and never with a guitar. Garmisch in the summer was nice - but I only spent one day there. Aspen in the summer is marvelous. With the closing of the Two Old Hippies in town, my trips to a decent guitar shop will be few and far between - luckily I think I have enough guitars to satisfy me for quite awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Ich bin ein Kaertner! My father is from Arnoldstein, near Villach. I have been lucky enough to have visited there a number of times, summer and winter, and never with a guitar. Garmisch in the summer was nice - but I only spent one day there. Aspen in the summer is marvelous. With the closing of the Two Old Hippies in town, my trips to a decent guitar shop will be few and far between - luckily I think I have enough guitars to satisfy me for quite awhile. Interestingly the background of your Avatar reminded me of the Alps at first sight, and the colour of the mountains looks a bit like that of the Swiss Milka chocolate packages - http://de.chclt.net/wp-content/uploads/milka-vorne.jpg However, when looking from here, the Alps look more blue than lilac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 Let's hope it's just a phase - Do I understand they never sold Gibsons ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 Let's hope it's just a phase - Do I understand they never sold Gibsons ? Nary a one... Didn't take trade-ins either. The guitar sales took second fiddle to all the trendy hippie motif clothing and stuff they sold - got a couple of John Lennon shirts there myself, I must admit. One day I was there, about to grab a guitar off the wall, and Joe Walsh came trippin' in. I played a song for Antonio Banderas there one day, and it was not at all unusual to bump into celebs there in the little shop - I even had my picture taken one day by the papparazi, as I exited quickly in my cowbay hat and sunglasses. Man, what a waste of film - especially after one guy shouts to me - "Hey, who are you?". Moron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 So duluthdan, what do you figure the monthly rent on what appears to be that small square footage in the picture of Two Old Hippies is/was? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 I guess the 'economy' is not getting better in that location as the media wants us to believe? I don,t want to start a flame, really. But that would be a 'thinking man's' deduction. no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 This is very sad, but I think you're right, no one will step into that business there. Don't know too much about Aspen except that around this city is one of the most famous and most expensive skiing regions of the world. For sure the people living here would have the money, but not the interest. It is the same here in Germany, too, that big shops are in big cities, with the exception of Thomann who employs 980 people in a small village with 460 inhabitants. By the way, famous skiing regions here luckily are a bit more on a budget since my son loves to ski the Garlant, World Cup downhill run in Lenggries, and the Kandahar, World Cup downhill run in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, twin city with Aspen/Colorado. These locations are 25 kilometers (approx. 16 miles) resp. 63 kilometers (approx. 40 miles) away from the village we live. My divorced wife and me don't like skiing at all... I DO like the double-cut sunburst Junior-looking guitar on the top hanger to the right.(of your original pic)....could you get an ID and price on that one for me Dan??? PM if necessary, Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 politics???????? i stopped reading snooze papersd and watching the goggle box a long time ago man life seems sweeet ;) BTW just listen to Bob..Live at Budukan...... dont tell me anout fricken economy " I don't care about economy I don't care about astronomy but it sure hurts me to see my loved ones turning into puppets " Bob Dylan..from Slow Train Coming go on Bob x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 So duluthdan, what do you figure the monthly rent on what appears to be that small square footage in the picture of Two Old Hippies is/was? There's a lower level too, about twice as big - my educted guess is that the rent ran $8,500 to $10,000 per month, easily. Retail space in Aspen is out of orbit expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 I DO like the double-cut sunburst Junior-looking guitar on the top hanger to the right.(of your original pic)....could you get an ID and price on that one for me Dan??? PM if necessary, Rod I'll look tomorrow - likely a Paul Reed Smith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted September 3, 2013 Author Share Posted September 3, 2013 I guess the 'economy' is not getting better in that location as the media wants us to believe? I don,t want to start a flame, really. But that would be a 'thinking man's' deduction. no? The economy at the working man's level in Aspen is no better off than the rest of the country - but the Masters of the Universe type folk we have here are not hurting. I could talk for hours, but I won't. You cannot equate the reality here to what the normal thinking man's deduction would be - this place really is in a different orbit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 The economy at the working man's level in Aspen is no better off than the rest of the country - but the Masters of the Universe type folk we have here are not hurting. I could talk for hours, but I won't. You cannot equate the reality here to what the normal thinking man's deduction would be - this place really is in a different orbit. Again, not making a stink, but if a mom and pop music shop is shutting down after years(?) of being in biz, then it boils down to economics.....which IS reality. Either they are not making enough money to stay in business OR they are tired of making too much money and want to close shop?I think the former is reality , no matter what orbit you are on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 I'll look tomorrow - likely a Paul Reed Smith. Thanks Dan. Please get a price. Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modoc_333 Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 this isn't just a case of economy and a music store doing well i think. These guys had their hands in some guitar building businesses too. They put a lot of money into Bedell and it hasn't done that well as far as I can tell. Not because of the economy, but because of the guitars, the business decisions, etc. I think that may have a lot to do with this. Just my 2cents though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Well, at $8500-$10,000 a month just for rent (not even counting things like electricity or insurance, etc.) one had better be moving some guitars out the door at a pretty good clip to just break even. To do that would take a LOT of guitar players buying guitars over in the Roaring Fork valley. I watched a guy where I live drop $1.5-$2 million on a building and fixtures to start a bakery and I asked myself, "How many croissants at $1.75 each do you have to sell to pay the note on that?" He went broke within two years. I sometimes read in this forum some guys complaining about the prices some shops charge and how they are "ripping off" the customer. You can't really tell if someone is charging too much unless you know his expenses. One might take in a million a month but if expenses are $1,000,001.00 a month you're going down the tubes. But I'm sorry you lost your local guitar store whatever the reason. We live in dire times that a lot of people hardly see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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