When you own a store that sells guitars, turning work into play is effortless.
Mark McKenzie is the owner of the steadily growing Guitar Shoppe, located at the heart of GlenDean Shopping Center.
"I just knew while I was in school that I wanted music to be a large part of my life," McKenzie said. "Then I stumbled upon the opportunity to buy the guitar shop because the previous owner was moving out of the business, so I was just at the right place at the right time."
McKenzie, originally from Monroeville, has lived in Auburn since 1991 and has owned the Shoppe for the last 17 years. When they first started out, he said, there were about 17 guitars in the shop. These days, however, they usually carry about 150.
"We believe in all the brands that we carry," McKenzie said. "Everyone in here is passionate about music, so we don't represent anything that we don't believe in."
McKenzie's instrument of choice is the stand up bass, but he does not have a specific preference in brands.
"It's very fun, very relaxed working here," said Patrick Sweeney, who manages general sales. "All of our people are super cool, and our customers are awesome."
Sweeney, an Auburn native, bought his first guitar from the store when it opened under McKenzie almost 17 years ago and has worked for the store for the past two years.
"It's a fun job," Sweeney said. "It doesn't feel like you're under all this crazy pressure."
McKenzie's son Josh also manages sales and has worked at the store for seven years.
"It's definitely different than having a normal boss but he's really good at separating the father-son thing at work," Josh said.
For Josh, one of the best things about working with his father is having the opportunity to spend a lot of time together.
"It works out good and we have music in common, so it's cool," said Josh. "He's more of a good friend now that I'm an adult."
McKenzie said students from the University make up a large part of their customer base, and the store serves both recreational and professional guitarists and musicians throughout the Southeast.
McKenzie said one of the business's greatest accomplishments was opening the Auburn School of Music earlier this year.
This summer, McKenzie said they will teach about 10 group classes and more than 100 private lessons a week. They will offer lessons in music theory and will host music seminars as well.
"We were already doing a lot of private lessons," McKenzie said. "Now, we've been able to bring on a lot more instructors to teach piano, vocal and other aspects of music performance."
When he's not busy running the store, McKenzie said he enjoys spending time with his family and is interested in real estate investment
"I'm always working on something," McKenzie said. "I believe in always educating yourself and having a positive mindset when learning things and moving forward in everything you do in life."
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