DFC Fifth Anniversary Thoughts - Saul Rosenthal Co-Owner
 This month the Denver Folklore Center will be celebrating it's Fifth Anniversary under new ownership! To mark the occasion, Co-Owner Saul Rosenthal has a few memories to share:"I started playing guitar at age 16, about 50 years before we (he and Co-Owner Claude Brachfeld) bought the Denver Folklore Center from Harry. Little did I know at the time that playing guitar for most of your life does little to prepare you to own a retail music store. At age 65 I was thinking about retiring after successful runs as a college professor, non-profit executive and public relations consultant. When Harry told me he wanted to move on from the store it only took me a few days to decide that I had one more career move left in me. It took another 18 months to make it happen. Looking back, the first 6 months as co-owner of the store were filled with revelations and surprises. How little I knew about guitars (let alone mandolins, ukuleles, banjos and the rest of what we sell). How little I knew about customers and vendors. Fortunately when we bought the store it came with four terrific people – Jeff, Brian, Mark and John – who knew all of the things that I did not and were kind and patient enough to teach me. To say the learning curve was steep would be an understatement. Even to this day I frequently turn to our staff for help. What’s the wood on the back and sides of this guitar again? Does that banjo have a tone ring? And the tuning on a mandola is what? Did I make a good decision in taking on one more career? Absolutely. I once told my wife as I was getting ready to head to work that I was going to “my happy place.” (I quickly added, my other happy place dear.). DFC is a happy place in so many ways not the least of which is how many people we make happy every week as they find that first, next or forever instrument or learn that their beloved guitar with the cracks can be repaired. Music has always been a key part of who I am. My work at the Folklore Center allows me to share that part of me with lots of wonderful people – and I also get to play a lot of great instruments!" |