Guitar Center relocates to former bakery downtown

A great spot for guitar lessons in Amherst will resume March 8.

Ron Zehel Guitar Center will relocate to 215 Church St. in the downtown area.

The building, home to a bakery in the 1950s and 1960s, will provide the Guitar Center with the much needed space and atmosphere that owner Jeff Nickoloff had searched for since purchasing the business in 2012.

“I have been wanting to get downtown for quite some time now,” Nickoloff said. “I grew up in Amherst, and just the small town with a big heart atmosphere, and kept wanting to be a part of that.”

Ron Zehel originally opened the business Nov. 12, 1976, at 2284 Kresge Drive in Amherst as a place to buy and sell musical instruments as well as learn how to play the guitar.

Since then, the business has expanded its offerings to include lessons for all ages and levels on guitar, drums, piano, vocal, trumpet, mandolin, banjo and music theory.

In addition to the lessons, Zehel’s has a plentiful stock of musical equipment from picks to drumsticks, and of course, guitars.

“We try to cater to a little bit of everything,” Nickoloff said. “While we are mainly a guitar center, we also provide lessons through our teachers in many other instruments.”

Currently, the Guitar Center has three guitar instructors, a drum instructor and a band instrument instructor specializing in trumpet.

Nickoloff said the move was a long time coming.

“Ron Zehel’s has always been local ever since opening back in 1976,” he said. “But, it has always been around the Kresge area, and I knew for a couple years that I wanted to get downtown.

“It’s just every time something would open up, it would be gone so fast because the area is in high demand.”

Lessons resumed at the new location on March 1 and can be scheduled by appointment by going to the website or stopping by the new shop. The current cost for lessons is $104 a month and includes four half hour private lessons.

Lessons resumed at the new location on March 1 and can be scheduled by appointment by going to the website or stopping by the new shop.

Discounted, hourly rates are available as well.

Nickoloff plans to officially reopen March 8.

“I have had students so delighted that we moved downtown and have said things like, ‘Can you give me good marks today? Because my mom said if I do good, I can go to the candy store.’ It’s just awesome,” Nickoloff said. “I just can’t wait for summer so we can have live music outside and fun during the Walkin’ on Wednesday events.”

LAUREN HOFFMAN — THE MORNING JOURNAL Jeff Nickoloff is a student of Ron Zehel’s having taken guitar lessons from him before working at the shop and eventually purchasing it.

LAUREN HOFFMAN — THE MORNING JOURNAL Ron Zehel Guitar Center owner Jeff Nickoloff is excited to be at the shop’s new location in downtown Amherst.

LAUREN HOFFMAN — THE MORNING JOURNAL Left: The business at 215 Park Ave., is gearing up to welcome back students as it adorns its new window openings with music paraphernalia.