It's not every day that you can sit through a recital of classical pianist Yuja Wang or listen as late jazz great Hazel Scott plays the keys on the piano in front of you. But at the new flagship Schmitt Music store in Bloomington, the musical possibilities seem endless.
The 125-year-old Twin Cities retailer on Tuesday opened a Willy Wonka-like wonderland for musicians at 7800 Picture Drive, near the interchange of Interstate 494 and Hwy. 100 in Bloomington.
A $6.3 million purchase and subsequent renovation of a building formerly owned by Lifetouch LLC, the school photography company, allowed Schmitt to combine its office, warehouse and instrument repair operation with a new retail store.
"Our passion is to create new music makers," said CEO Peter Schmitt, the great-great-grandson of company founder Paul Schmitt. "We're trying to support music education ... as students are beginning their journey going into like fifth-grade band. Then as they progress, they have different needs."
Retail takes up about 20,000 square feet of the 92,000-square-foot building.
The store is divided into different galleries dedicated to various instruments. Each has specialists for that instrument, a trial room for people to try the instruments and an area for repairs.
Its piano area includes a Steinway & Sons grand piano with the Minneapolis and St. Paul skylines etched in. There's also Steinway Spirio pianos that have technology for audiences to listen to performances played by great pianists and see the keys move as they played them. The Spirio technology also permits audiences to enjoy live performances from faraway pianists.
Each of the instrument galleries have unique displays. For instance, the brass shop features a glass wall of floor-to-ceiling trumpets, and mouthpieces are displayed in the center of the room in a case resembling the kind found at a fine jewelry store. Tucked in the corner is a closet of tubas, including one that dates back to 1908. Light pours in through windows and sparkles off the trombones. The vibe in the saxophone room is moody; its leather couch and Persian rugs evoke a jazz lounge atmosphere.
Not all of the galleries are completed yet because of shelving delays. But they should be ready by a grand opening event planned for Dec. 10.
When installation is finished, there will be technology for musicians to virtually conference with instructors or others.
Schmitt's business is consultative, which is why the new flagship store is so important, said Jeremiah Babcock, Schmitt's vice president of sales.
"Instruments are still very tactile," Babcock said. "To have a space where you can experience them regardless where you are in that playability, that's what these spaces are."
The building remodel, which was designed by Shea Design, includes a 124-seat concert hall that is available to the public. Several shows are already scheduled, including the start of a free saxophone series next week. There's also a suite of private lesson studios.
"Our expertise is in creating great guest experiences," Kim Aune, principal at Shea, said in a statement.
In addition to the new space, Shea also helped Schmitt design a new logo. In the middle is the "S" for Schmitt, which is made to resemble a treble clef with the five-line staff signifying the five generations of Schmitt family members who have run the business. Another hidden Easter egg is that surrounding the "S" is the sonic representation of the famous musical score muralized on the wall of the former Schmitt Music headquarters in downtown Minneapolis.
The opportunity to reimagine the company's headquarters and retail footprint came as Schmitt's lease expired for its Southdale area location. When Peter Schmitt, who assumed leadership of the company from his father, Tom, last year, stumbled upon the Lifetouch building, he said it made sense to him to combine the Brooklyn Center and Edina stores into one space. Plus, it provided more room for the company's operations, he said.
"It's a cool place to be," said Peter Schmitt, as he gave a tour of the Bloomington store.
While he attests that he is a poor musician himself, Peter Schmitt has used his background in furniture design and woodworking to his advantage at Schmitt. He had his own business selling custom furniture and cabinetry in the Twin Cities for about a decade before his father asked him to join the family business.
Eventually Peter Schmitt went to school to learn violin repair and restoration and joined the company in 2014 leading the development of its orchestral strings division.
Schmitt Music, which has a dozen locations, has continued to take in stride more than a century of challenges, Peter Schmitt said.
"Having been in the music business for 125 years, we have experienced downturns in the past," he said. "During these downturns, people still support music education because music brings joy."
