The Bevard family is bringing music back to Iola. Tom and his son Randy will be opening a guitar shop, T and R Guitars, Tuesday. T and R Guitars is at 101 N. Washington Ave. and will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
It has been some time since Iola has had a music shop. Some might remember when Evan’s Music was around or when Don Hogman gave guitar lessons and sold guitars — but those days have long since been gone.
Both Tom and Randy, who run Freedom Ministries, an organization bringing evangelistic programs to Kansas prisons, learned how to play guitar from Hogman and are renting the building from him.
The front part of the office will be the new guitar shop and the back office will still function as the Freedom Ministries office.
The storefront is hard to miss with a red, white and blue guitar hanging from the awning made by Steve Traw.
“We would occasionally buy and sell guitars and some people asked us if we would start a business, and then we got the idea to open the shop,” Tom said. “This is a sideline for us, we will still be doing Freedom Ministries.”
The store will be open in time for the holiday season. There will be a variety of different guitars to choose from.
“We will have acoustic and electric guitars, along with accessories — strings and straps,” Tom said. “We will also be offering lessons.”
Randy will be the one giving the lessons because as Tom said, he is “real good with the guitar, he can even play it behind his head.”
The front part of the shop is equipped with 35 guitars, some antique. The shop is decorated in nostalgic memorabilia from the 1950s and ’60s, guitars to amplifiers and recording accessories, also Tom and Randy’s favorite era for music.
For more information call (620) 365- 3233.
New business brings new tune to Iola
