WEST BRIGHTON — A famed Staten Island guitar shop that's served such musicians as Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan found a new owner, but will close its Forest Avenue shop.
Mandolin Brothers, at 629 Forest Ave., started searching for a buyer in 2015 after its president, Stan Jay, died. His children recently settled on a California-based buyer to take over the brand, the Staten Island Advance first reported.
The new owner will shut down the Forest Avenue storefront and deal classic instruments through an online shop under the name.
"It's kind of like when you know that you find the right thing, this is the right fit for us," said Jay's daughter, Alison Reilly. "He seems to feel very similar about the industry [to Jay] and keeping it alive."
The deal has not been finalized, so a final closing date hasn't been set, but it can happen within three weeks' time.
Mandolin Brothers opened on Forest Avenue in 1971 and had a huge selection of guitars, mandolins, basses, resonators, slide guitars and more.
But it was famous for its vintage selection.
It regularly had Gibson, Fender and Martin guitars and mandolins dating back to pre-1930s in stock, which could fetch more than $10,000 apiece.
The shop sold to and repaired instruments for famous musicians including George Harrison, Lenny Kravitz and Paul McCartney, and was immortalized by Joni Mitchell in "Song for Sharon."
Jay passed away in 2014 from Mantle cell lymphoma and ownership of the shop went to Reilly and her brother, Eric jay.
After profits fell and their web server crashed, the siblings started to decrease their selection of instruments, only opened their doors by appointment only and began to hunt for a buyer to take the store off their hands.
After getting several offers, a California-based buyer the siblings said has sold instruments for years reached out and they decided he was the best person to carry on their father's legacy. They did not release his name.
"He had been in the industry of buying and selling musical instruments for a long time, he's sort of looking for a brand and reputation," said Eric Jay. "It's kind of exactly someone we wanted, who knew the industry, but didn't have the brand yet."
The siblings called the closing of the famed storefront "bittersweet," but a relief for the family.
"It's a combination of wistful and emotional, but also a bit of a relief," Eric Jay said. "The last year or two have been very stressful for our family."
