His wife, Christina, is the other half of the husband-wife team that operates JC's Guitars, 2212 E. Algonquin Road. Justin previously was a caddy at a country club, but tossed the golf bags after getting his first guitar at age 14.
"And every new dollar that he got went to buying another guitar," Christina remembered.
The Coffmans recently moved from their original 2,500-square-foot space to a 5,000- square-foot retail spot next door -- the better to handle the stockpiles of Fender, Gibson, Dean and Peavey brand and other guitars -- a collection the Coffmans believe is the largest in the Midwest. Guitar sales account for a lot of JC's revenue, Christina said. But lessons, she noted, also are a lucrative part of their business.
"We actually have eight different guitar teachers, a piano teacher, a drum teacher and a bass guitar teacher," she said. Students may not necessarily want to follow in the footsteps of such groups as AC-DC, Led Zeppelin or the Grateful Dead, but they do consider them role models, Christina said. Some take up the guitar as a hobby, while others feel that mastering a musical instrument is an extension of their education, Christina said.
The Coffmans also rent their equipment to area schools for concerts and other events, some of which are sponsored by the guitar store. "We've sponsored a 'battle of the bands' where we provide all of the musical equipment," Christina said. JC's was a major sponsor of last summer's Duck Race fund- raiser put on by the Elgin Boys and Girls Club, Christina noted.
"In fact, we gave away five guitars at five different events to benefit the club," she said. Christina shuns any on-stage performing, but acknowledges she occasionally "tinkers around" with the guitar before an audience of young kids. Justin, however, has performed as part of National Night Out, a crime awareness event .
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