David Woo has been the owner of La Jolla Music since 2012. That year, the store was being sold and at risk of closing, so he decided to step in. Now, after more than a decade, it is his time to move on.
“I had originally planned about a five-year stint or so, but then things just kept going and going, and I never got to a point where it was completely hands-free in terms of running,” Woo said. “There were always some areas of improvement to do.”
La Jolla Music has been around since 1962, selling some retail items but primarily offering lessons in guitar, piano, harp, vocals and more.
“Music is one of those joys in life that I don’t know anybody that can’t appreciate at least some aspect of music,” Woo said.
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Woo’s three daughters all grew up learning from teachers at La Jolla Music. It is part of why he felt it important to maintain its legacy. Now, he wants to retire and spend more time with his wife, who recently retired.
“When I made the decision that I was going to retire and exit from the store, the first thing I was concerned about was kind of like the same thing the previous owner cared about, which was if you sell to anybody, they might completely change what the goal and mission of the store was,” Woo said.
Since Woo took ownership, he moved the business into a larger, 6,000-square-foot building with more than 20 studios. There are 12 resident music teachers and several other spaces for community members to come to teach or practice in.
“The focus of this store is really music lessons,” Woo said.
It is a priority he wants to see maintained by the next owner, which is why music teachers like Michael Ball are stepping up.
“I’ve been teaching here at La Jolla Music for about 14 or 15 years,” Ball said.
He is a lifelong musician who teaches everything from piano to composition, and he is one of a small handful of La Jolla Music teachers trying to raise the money needed to buy the store from Woo.
“It was nice of him to give the teachers here sort of the first shot at purchasing the store and sort of keeping it in the family,” Ball said. “Knowing that we would put music teaching, music students and music education just in general at the forefront, rather than looking at the store as purely for profit.”
Woo is asking for $200,000 as a down payment. He said it covers the value of all of the items in their retail area. Ball said of the teachers trying to match that price tag, one has some personal funds they can put forward, one is trying to get loans and another has started an online fundraiser asking the public for help.
“I did say to them that if they don’t do it, obviously I’m going to have to find an outside buyer, but my preference would be to have somebody who has lived the experience,” Woo added.
Woo initially gave the teachers until June 30, but he has since extended that to July 30 in hopes they can come up with the money. He also mentioned that if one or all of them are able to become the new owners, he will reinvest that $200,000 over the next three or four years by helping to train them on running the business.
“That would really make my exit a fabulous thing, a wonderful thing, because I’ll know I left it in a way that was going to keep it continuing to give to the community,” Woo said.
If the crowdfunding effort is successful, it wouldn't be the first time the community has come together to save a long-standing La Jolla business. In 2021, investors rallied to save Warwick's Bookstore, which has been around since 1896.
