[Cross posted from Facebook and G+]
This update is from a friend of Tom's - I am posting on his behalf because he has been very busy lately and I want to provide folks with insight into what's going on. On May 31, Vintage HiFi of Pittsburgh moved to its new location. Since that time, Tom has been working non-stop to get things in order so he could resume operations. Unfortunately, things are not always as simple as they may seem.
Here is a back-story about the reason for the move. For more than a few years, Tom - the owner has been struggling to keep the shop in operation; The cost of rent for the shop on top of personal living expenses has been a struggle each and every month. Despite the struggles, Tom refused to change his rates for his services. Some loyal customers would actually insist on paying extra because they knew he was under-charging them.
Tom's vision was to find a place where he could live and work so that he could continue to pursue his passion and serve his customers with fair prices as he has always done in the past. Tom had been searching for a place to fulfill that purpose for quite some time and he finally found it a few months ago and set things in motion to purchase it.
Unfortunately purchasing the place has not been easy; the building was zoned residential/commercial but had been converted completely into office space. There was no kitchen or full bath which meant he could not get a conventional mortgage. Obtaining financing was quite a feat and was accomplished through help from family and friends.
Since the new location was only office space, Tom has been working constantly on dividing up the building to create a living space, showroom and tech bench. This is a major renovation to say the least, and Tom is doing most of the work himself with the help of friends.
Once the new location is ready for him to move into, work must begin on his original home so that he can put it up for sale. Until that is complete, Tom must carry payments of both loans which is quite a bit of pressure. The fact that there is very little income from sales or service because the shop is not yet fully operational compounds the stress factor.
As a result, Tom has been laser focused on completing the renovation efforts which has left no time for him to resume business operations. Tom regrets that he has been unable to answer the phone, or respond to emails regularly but the task at hand demands his full attention.
For those of you who have equipment at the shop, we appreciate your patience and understanding. Please be assured that the shop is not going away. Your equipment is still here and will be attended to as soon as possible. The current target is to have the living space in the new location ready in late August at which time he will be able to focus on the backlog before moving attention to selling his previous home.
We will post additional updates as time progresses.
For the record, the new address is:
4024 Mt. Royal Blvd
Allison Park, Pa 15101
