Today we’d like to introduce you to Greg Henderson
Hi Greg, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Atlanta Vintage Guitars: Where Guitar Lovers Shop
In the late 1980s, Frank Moates embarked on a mission that would shape the music scene in
Georgia. Starting from the basement of a friend’s home in East Marietta, Frank had also cut his
teeth at Dixie Guitars on the famous Guitar Row in Smyrna, known for its lineup of music stores:
Music Mart, American Music, Amazing Music, Dirt Cheap Music, and Dixie Guitars.
When Dixie Guitars closed its doors, Frank seized the opportunity and founded Atlanta Vintage
Guitars (AVG). Though the shop unofficially opened around 1990, AVG was incorporated in
1998. Frank quickly became known for curating an incredible collection of vintage guitars. Ads
in Vintage Guitar magazine featured AVG’s stock of Gibson, Fender, and Martin guitars that
would make any enthusiast’s head spin.
AVG’s reputation attracted rock legends. The Joe Perry Les Paul that Slash eventually acquired
passed through AVG, and icons like Jimmy Page, Devin Townsend, and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top
visited the store. Billy even snagged an early 1950s blackguard Esquire from Frank.
Over the years, Frank downsized AVG to a cozy wooden house nearby, focusing more on his
love for playing the blues. During this time, he bought his dream guitar, a 1963 Gibson ES 335,
from Steve Marriot of Humble Pie and the Small Faces.
In the mid-2000s, Frank faced a battle with colon cancer. Despite the illness, he continued
running the store and playing music until his passing in July 2009. Greg Henderson, who played
with Frank at his last gig, took the reins. With the help of Frank’s friends, Greg sold much of the
inventory, eventually purchasing AVG on June 28, 2011. He moved the remaining stock to
climate-controlled storage units.
AVG relocated to Hwy 92 in Woodstock, GA, for four years before settling at its current home at
3778 Canton Road Suite 400, Marietta, GA 30066, in August 2015.
Since 2011, AVG has thrived thanks to our loyal customers, who we consider dear friends. Our
dedicated team, including Spencer Kirkpatrick, Ron Ferguson, Greg Montgomery, J.P Heinz, and Greg Henderson work hard everyday to make sure Atlanta Vintage Guitars are here for years to come!
We want to give special thanks to Jerry Farr, Eric Henderson, and James Myerscough, who helped us so much when we got started who have moved on to other projects.
For guitar enthusiasts, we offer great deals on new and used gear, appraisals, professional
repairs, and setups, with trusted artisans for specialized work.
Looking ahead, we plan to relaunch our charity, Guitars for Hearts, and our unique
service, The Guitar Registry. Stay tuned for our new, much improved and easier to navigate website!
Thank you for supporting Atlanta Vintage Guitars. We are committed to preserving what you
love about us and continuously improving. Here’s to many more years of being “Where Guitar
Lovers Shop!”
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Three things 1. Money 2. Money 3. Money That is always a struggle the old saying it takes money to make money should read it takes a lot of money to make a little money! We have run into people who wanted to help but wound up hurting us, and others who did do what they said is the only reason we are still here, along with some great customers and some great workers !! A small business is attacked these days by predatory lenders, liars and thiefs ! And all of them are the same !
If I could start over I would do two big things 1. raise more money than I ever thought I would need for inventory and then 2. do the same thing for working capital ! And dont trust anyone that you dont really know well, and prepare to have your heart broken at least a few dozen times !
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We are known as being an affordable vintage store, that is always willing to help and to also do things that other stores wont to make deals happen ! I love how the same people that helped me from the beginning are still here for the most part ! I am proud of us surviving covid the current uncertainty in the economy and the new directions we are heading into ! We are in the process of adding a partner who is going to invest more working capital into AVG so that we can have even more of the good stuff !
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Yes just keep on trucking !! Covid 19 was part misinformation and part health crisis ! Just keep doing what you do the best you can and it will all work out !! And know that a lot of the business environment is out of our hands ! We can only do the best we can every day , for every customer !
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.atlantavintageguitars.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atlantavintageguitars/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AtlantaVintageGuitars/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2Flkyxd-Y4TSPC-tRPFKkA
