tion that probably netted us $12. But the guy called back the next day to thank us. Maybe he’ll come into the store someday, who knows. But oftentimes someone will tell their friends, ‘Those guys really helped me out. They stayed open for me.’” THE VENDOR FRIENDSHIP O utside of fostering relationships with its customers, Chuck Levin’s strong relations with its vendors have also led it to be involved in a wide variety of custom offerings that have helped the brick-and- mortar retailer stand out. “We’ve always had a great relationship with our vendors, and over the years we’ve been involved in the inception of various products,” Adam said. “One that comes to mind is the Fender Tele Deluxe — we actu- ally helped name it, and we have the photo to prove it downstairs. Our 60th anniversary in 2018 was really the first time we jumped into exclusive collaborations in a bigger way. The exciting one was bringing back a pedal that Chuck had originally commissioned in the 1970s, called the Big Chuck. We found one on Reverb and decided we had to bring it back for the anniversary. Everyone here got involved — it was a great project that
The business, which is 68 years old this year, has been run by the Levin family for its entire six- decade history. Left: Alan, Abbe and the late Robert Levin outside their store front. Inset: From left: Founder Chuck Levin with son Robert, son Alan, wife Marge and daughter Abbe Levin.
night,” Alan explained. “There was a hip- hop DJ from New York who called about a $60 item that had failed on him downtown. He was on the phone, trying to get an Uber from D.C. to our store, but the credit card wasn’t going through online and the Uber
driver wouldn’t wait. So, I’m on the phone with this kid stranded downtown. I said, ‘Look, we’re closing, but I’ll stay. Let me try to get your card through the old-fashioned way. Get another Uber, we’ll wait.’ I had four people here to help with a transac-
34 I MUSIC INC. I JULY 2026
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