Nuncie's Music
Nuncie's Music was a musical instrument retailer and servicer located in a 23,000 square-foot building at 2609–2625 2nd Avenue North, adjacent to the 2nd Avenue off-ramp from the Elton B. Stephens Expressway. Most of the company's business came from band instruments and service.
The company was founded in 1945 by Nunzio "Nuncie" LaBerte, operating out of a small showroom at 1921 5th Avenue North. He ran the store with his wife, Jesola. They moved to their own building on 2nd Avenue in 1950 and brought their son Larry into the business in 1963. Drummer Gary Asher served as general manager of Nuncie's Music from the late 1970s.
Around 1988, a second location was opened on Montgomery Highway (U.S. Highway 31) in Hoover. It relocated to Lorna Road in 2001. A third location was open briefly at the Grayson Commons shopping center on Grayson Valley Parkway.
Larry took over the business in 1993 after his father's death. Facing increased competition from online sellers, the company undertook a short-lived foray into e-commerce beginning in early 2000. In 2003, facing debts from unfulfilled school contracts, Nuncie's filed for bankruptcy protection. A partnership with the New York-based American Music Group was expected to allow the company to emerge intact, but did not.
Nuncie's closed its stores in 2004. The building was sold in 2007 to Bruce Office Supply for its main office and showroom.
References
- Park, Jennifer (December 17, 1999) "Nuncie's hopes Web enhancements will strike the right chord with customers." Birmingham Business Journal
- "Hoover Store To Relocate" (c. October 13, 2001) Nuncie's Music web site (via the Internet Archive).
- Mahoney, Ryan (August 8, 2003) "School woes lead to Chapter 11 for Nuncie's." Birmingham Business Journal
External links
- Gary Asher (March 26, 2003) oral history interview at NAMM.org