Rupp’s Drums at 2045 S. Holly St. in Denver will close this month. (Max Scheinblum/BusinessDen)
Rupp’s Drums is putting down the sticks for good.
The drum shop in Denver’s Virginia Village neighborhood is set to close sometime this month, depending on how fast it can sell its remaining inventory of kits, heads, hardware and other gear.
The shop was founded in 1984 by local percussionist Bob Rupp. Owner Alex Simpson, who bought the business in 2018, said his attempts to sell have been unsuccessful, despite the shop being profitable.
“I was presented with a really exciting career opportunity earlier this year, and I spent the entire year trying to sell (Rupp’s) and pass the torch,” Simpson told BusinessDen last week.
Simpson said he had several potential suitors for the shop at 2045 S. Holly St. But the deals fell through over an inability to secure financing.
“It became a very expensive and time-consuming process. … I tried my very best to sell this place because there’s no one out there that cares about it more than I do,” he said. “I grew up worshipping it, and it’s great to come in every day and give drummers, especially younger drummers, the chance to experience a bit of that magic too.”
Alex Simpson (Courtesy Rupp’s)
Simpson said he’s posted seven straight profitable years since buying Rupp’s from Brad Telepo, who acquired the store from its namesake founder in the early 2000s. Since the pandemic, gross revenue has reached about $1.25 million each year and net profit has grown around 10% annually, Simpson said.
As for the future of the 2,200-square-foot space, Simpson hopes to lease it out in the next couple of months. While Rupp’s was leased for nearly its entire lifespan, records show Simpson bought the building for $530,000 in 2022 from longtime landlord and local office supply store owner Bernie Katz, who died in 2021.
“When I bought the store, it was not the store that it used to be,” he said. “The community focus wasn’t really there anymore, the inventory wasn’t really there anymore, the magic was still somewhat there but it wasn’t the same. It was in some financial trouble, and it was imminently close to going out of business.”
The first-time business owner and professional drummer had three goals when he took over at age 25: restore the store to its financial health and longevity, reenergize the Colorado drum community and make it a welcoming space in a music community that can feel exclusive.
“Right out of the gate we took a very large, slow-moving, high-end inventory and turned it into lean and fast inventory that would turn five or six times a year, your meat-and-potatoes products like drumsticks, heads and accessories,” he said.
Simpson said he hosted 120 live events during his tenure, more than any other drum store in the nation, he claims. They featured the likes of Mark Guiliana, known for his work with David Bowie, and Cirque du Soleil drummer Eden Bahar.
Rupp’s staff of mostly working, professional drummers also gave lessons. Getting those local musicians back in the fold was also crucial, Simpson said. He wanted the most knowledgeable people on drumming and the local music scene to be the ones helping players.
“We gathered people every other week and provided a lot of value that our competitors can’t,” he said. “You can’t replace a drum clinic with shopping on Amazon or Guitar Center or Sweetwater.”
Founder Bob Rupp, left, with Don Lombardi, the founder of custom drum maker Drum Workshop, in the 1990s. (Courtesy Rupp’s)
Those efforts saw Rupp’s win awards from the National Association of Music Merchants and be named a 2022 finalist for small business of the year by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, something he said was his proudest accomplishment during his ownership.
As an employee from 2012 through 2015, returning Rupp’s to its storied history was important to Simpson. When he was growing up in Cheyenne, Wyoming, he used to take a twice-yearly “pilgrimage” to the store with his dad, a professional drummer as well.
“The store has been around since 1984. In the music products industry that’s very rare, especially for specialized stores,” he said. “In the ’80s and ’90s, when Bob Rupp owned the store, it was simply one of America’s great drum shops. He built a cultlike customer base, and to this day, there’s not a day that goes by where someone doesn’t mention him or ask about him.”
Rupp’s Drums at 2045 S. Holly St. in Denver will close this month. (Max Scheinblum/BusinessDen)
Rupp’s Drums is putting down the sticks for good.
The drum shop in Denver’s Virginia Village neighborhood is set to close sometime this month, depending on how fast it can sell its remaining inventory of kits, heads, hardware and other gear.
The shop was founded in 1984 by local percussionist Bob Rupp. Owner Alex Simpson, who bought the business in 2018, said his attempts to sell have been unsuccessful, despite the shop being profitable.
“I was presented with a really exciting career opportunity earlier this year, and I spent the entire year trying to sell (Rupp’s) and pass the torch,” Simpson told BusinessDen last week.
Simpson said he had several potential suitors for the shop at 2045 S. Holly St. But the deals fell through over an inability to secure financing.
“It became a very expensive and time-consuming process. … I tried my very best to sell this place because there’s no one out there that cares about it more than I do,” he said. “I grew up worshipping it, and it’s great to come in every day and give drummers, especially younger drummers, the chance to experience a bit of that magic too.”
Alex Simpson (Courtesy Rupp’s)
Simpson said he’s posted seven straight profitable years since buying Rupp’s from Brad Telepo, who acquired the store from its namesake founder in the early 2000s. Since the pandemic, gross revenue has reached about $1.25 million each year and net profit has grown around 10% annually, Simpson said.
As for the future of the 2,200-square-foot space, Simpson hopes to lease it out in the next couple of months. While Rupp’s was leased for nearly its entire lifespan, records show Simpson bought the building for $530,000 in 2022 from longtime landlord and local office supply store owner Bernie Katz, who died in 2021.
“When I bought the store, it was not the store that it used to be,” he said. “The community focus wasn’t really there anymore, the inventory wasn’t really there anymore, the magic was still somewhat there but it wasn’t the same. It was in some financial trouble, and it was imminently close to going out of business.”
The first-time business owner and professional drummer had three goals when he took over at age 25: restore the store to its financial health and longevity, reenergize the Colorado drum community and make it a welcoming space in a music community that can feel exclusive.
“Right out of the gate we took a very large, slow-moving, high-end inventory and turned it into lean and fast inventory that would turn five or six times a year, your meat-and-potatoes products like drumsticks, heads and accessories,” he said.
Simpson said he hosted 120 live events during his tenure, more than any other drum store in the nation, he claims. They featured the likes of Mark Guiliana, known for his work with David Bowie, and Cirque du Soleil drummer Eden Bahar.
Rupp’s staff of mostly working, professional drummers also gave lessons. Getting those local musicians back in the fold was also crucial, Simpson said. He wanted the most knowledgeable people on drumming and the local music scene to be the ones helping players.
“We gathered people every other week and provided a lot of value that our competitors can’t,” he said. “You can’t replace a drum clinic with shopping on Amazon or Guitar Center or Sweetwater.”
Founder Bob Rupp, left, with Don Lombardi, the founder of custom drum maker Drum Workshop, in the 1990s. (Courtesy Rupp’s)
Those efforts saw Rupp’s win awards from the National Association of Music Merchants and be named a 2022 finalist for small business of the year by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, something he said was his proudest accomplishment during his ownership.
As an employee from 2012 through 2015, returning Rupp’s to its storied history was important to Simpson. When he was growing up in Cheyenne, Wyoming, he used to take a twice-yearly “pilgrimage” to the store with his dad, a professional drummer as well.
“The store has been around since 1984. In the music products industry that’s very rare, especially for specialized stores,” he said. “In the ’80s and ’90s, when Bob Rupp owned the store, it was simply one of America’s great drum shops. He built a cultlike customer base, and to this day, there’s not a day that goes by where someone doesn’t mention him or ask about him.”
