Next to discussing and participating in politics, Washingtonians enjoy listening to their musical genres and Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center (Chuck Levin’s) in Wheaton, Maryland fuels that love by providing musicians, music groups and other interested organizations and stakeholders with instruments and other tools and materials.
For Adam Levin, the grandson of the co-founders Chuck (for whom the company is named after) and Marge Levin (his wife), the opportunity to lead the family business through the 21st century is a golden one.
“Growing up, I knew the business was around but when I was younger, I wasn’t too involved in it,” Levin, 37, said. “My Dad, uncles and their friends worked for the company. It wasn’t until I got out of college that I began to think about joining the company. I have a thing for the intersection of mathematics and music and was an electrical engineering major at Washington University in St. Louis, which was interesting to me.”
Levin is one of six people identified as a legacy business honoree at The Washington Informer’s 60th Anniversary Gala that will take place on March 28 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Northwest. Levin said being an honoree is humbling.
“I am surprised and touched deeply,” said Levin. “I am happy that we mean this much to the community. This validates everything we do.”
The History of Chuck Levin’s
The company started out in the District at 12th and H Streets NE in 1958 with Chuck and Marge Levin as employees. Former pawn shop entrepreneurs, they dealt with musical instruments and equipment and decided to specialize in that in their new venture.
Their children, Alan, Robert and Abbe, entered the business when they came of age. The establishment developed a reputation for its people-oriented approach to selling musical instruments “from novices who play for fun to professional musicians,” according to an online company statement.
“Chuck knew that musicians didn’t just use their instruments as tools, but in many cases developed an emotional bond with their guitar or tuba or drum kit—you name it,” the statement said.
The Levins decided to move the store out of the District in 1968, because of the uprising due to the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., when the store was destroyed due to the violence.
Four months after the uprising, the Levins set up in Wheaton at its present location.
Currently, the company has several buildings that include multiple showrooms, instrument repair workshops, storage facilities and an adjunct business that aids large-scale customers with their audiovisual needs.
The company’s namesake led the business until he died in 2002. Then, Marge Levin and her children managed the business until she passed away in 2010.
The younger Levin began working for the business under his father Robert Levin in 2010. However, when his father died in 2013, he formally stepped into lead management.
Having worked for Chuck Levin’s for 42 years, Paul Schein knows the critical contributions the company has made to the DMV community over the decades, and is proud to see the younger Levin continuing his family’s legacy.
“I worked with his grandfather and worked with his father, and he has big shoes to fill,” Schein, 72, said. “When he first came, he had the ‘deer in the headlights’ look but he has the place moving forward. He is large and in charge and he is up to the job.”
Working With the Family Firm
Levin said when he joined the company in 2010, he soon learned that what he had observed previously as a youth was “the tip of the iceberg.”
“Working with family is the blessing of my life but there can be some frustrating times,” he said. “I like to say that our family is a functional dysfunctional family. That is, we have remarkable respect for each other despite some disagreements. We come back to the company the next day despite the disagreements.”
Levin has played a significant role in Chuck Levin’s online operations. Customers can now order instruments and pay bills online and the company can order new inventory digitally without the cumbersome paperwork of the past.
Additionally, Levin has created a professional photography studio website so digital customers can see the instruments they are interested in purchasing.
Operating under the title of “general manager” Levin jokes that the position has him doing a wide variety of activities at the company— from selling equipment, to “sweeping the floor.”
Carlos Romero, who has worked with the company 27 years, emphasized that Levin is managing the family business well.
“I remember seeing Adam as a kid running around the store on his Hot Wheels,” said Romero, 62. “But we knew he was coming. When his dad died, he had to make a quick switch. Adam had to lead it and figure it out.”