Since Leo Kim purchased longtime Fresno store Patrick's Music, the number of students going there for lessons has gone from 110 to more than 420. Photo contributed

When a local music educator took over Patrick’s Music store in late 2022, he had no intention of purchasing the well-known Fresno music store. But an unexpected call from the store’s founder changed everything.

In November 2022, Patrick’s Music Owner and Founder Patrick Balakian reached out to cellist and music educator Leo Kim, seeking to find a buyer for his store — a retail space that offered lessons to student instrumentalists.

Balakian’s inquiry came as a bit of a surprise to Kim. Kim founded the United Conservatory of Music Fresno, but had just left his role at the conservatory and was running his own private studio when he received the call.

“He had been trying to retire, probably for the last ten years,” Kim said.

Balakian, who opened Patrick’s Music in 1978, had built a legacy serving musicians, students and educators in the Valley. For Kim, the opportunity to take over the much beloved music store was a great honor.

“For him to reach out to me and offer me to take over his shop — it was his baby for 47 years,” Kim said.

 

Education is the future

After finalizing the purchase in December 2022, just weeks after their initial conversation about the store, Kim set off on the journey to transform the much-beloved music store that focused on retail over private music lessons.

Kim said that Balakian himself noted that education and music lessons was the future for the store beyond retail — a space that has been heavily challenged by the influx of online shopping.

Having limited background in retail and business, Kim sought outside assistance in the form of a trusted friend and local entrepreneur.

Local businessman and entrepreneur, Eric Sha, who moved to the Valley in 2009, brought a fresh perspective and business acumen to the store; Sha, who had built a career helping businesses capture tax credits in local enterprise zones, saw the partnership with Kim as an opportunity to balance community service and fill a much-needed space in the education field, with profitability and interest.

“Retail is an odd space,” Kim said. “Eric is quite vital to this particular process.”

Over the following months, the original Patrick’s Music store, located at 769 E. Barstow Ave., transformed its appearance from a retail-first storefront that also offered music lessons to a lesson-space educational environment that sells the gear musicians need.

The revamp allowed Patrick’s Music to not only change the look and feel of its original storefront and business model, but also retain its retail focus.

 

Word-of-mouth growth

Director Jaymee Horg, whose children take lessons at Patrick’s Music, has witnessed the business’ rapid growth firsthand; when Kim and his team took over, the school had just over 110 students.

Just two years later, the school’s student numbers have exploded to more than 420.

“We want to provide not just basic-level instruction but also advanced levels,” Horg said. “We help seasoned teachers mentor younger ones, fostering a community of educators and students.”

Despite the massive growth — a student body that has more than quadrupled in about a 24 month period — Patrick’s Music has spent very little on marketing.

The main method of growth has been through word-of-mouth.

Kim, who himself gives lessons at Patrick’s Music and holds a music education degree in cello, said that much of the student expansion is due to students talking amongst themselves — and Patrick’s Music’s ability to maintain flexibility and accommodate student schedules.

The expansion led to the need for additional space.

“At its peak hours, all of the rooms at Barstow are filled,” Kim said.

 

Room to grow

The need for extra space led to Patrick’s Music opening its second location at 9423 N. Fort Washington Rd. earlier this year. The new facility focuses solely on lessons, leaving any retail opportunities — a limited amount of which are still available at Patrick’s Music’s Barstow location — to the business’ former lone storefront.

The expansion to the new Fort Washington location has serviced the business very well, but Kim says the school is still bustling with new students, leading Kim to consider a possible third location somewhere down the line.

“We’d love to expand further along the 41 corridor and eastwards towards Harlan Ranch,” Kim said. “We go where the people are…that’s really important because that’s where our students are.”

As for Balakian — now retired — he still visits the store at least once a month, his presence continuing to underscore the connection between Balakian and the community he served for over 45 years.

“He’s enjoying his retirement,” Kim said. “We’re very happy to continue his legacy in the Valley.”