Florida’s Real Guitars to Close

Later this month, the owners of Real Guitars of Ft. Myers, Fla., Phyllis Hincher and Frank Greathouse, will shutter its doors for good.

Phyllis Hincher

“We are retiring,” explains Hincher. “My husband, Frank, turns 65 in May which means he’ll be able to get Medicare. Both of us are sick of working six days a week, to be honest. Retail is brutal – it’s unrelenting. More specificially, you know how the music retail business is these days for mom and pops. I’ve worked hard all of my life, but I’ve never worked so hard for such little money as since we entered this business.”

First opened in January of 1999 and born out of Greathouse’s “long-term GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome),” the store quickly grew, eventually becoming a dealership for Martin, National Resophonic, Fender, Guild, and Gretsch, among others, and becoming a favorite with local pickers.

“We tried to find somebody to buy the shop because all our customers are saying how sad it is and how they prefer coming here as opposed to Guitar Center,” bemoans Hincher. “We have made customer service, being good to our customers, a priority. I agree with our customers that a business like this won’t continue to be around in this area.”