By Derek Linder
As a local real estate Broker who sees a variety of properties and personalities, I try to showcase local businesses in the Wilmington, NC, community. Despite lacking actual musical talent, I have always been interested in music as I consider collecting records a hobby of mine. More importantly, I appreciate design. Whether it is the architecture of a house, or, in this case, guitars, there is something special about these creations. For lack of a better word, Mike’s guitars are downright cool. Each piece of wood has a story and every guitar that leaves the shop is unique. I was fortunate enough to sit down with Mike in his workshop for an interview.
There are tools, sawdust, and various works-in-progress spread about in Roadhouse Guitar Works‘ Wilmington, North Carolina, workshop. The walls are lined with guitars. Shelves are stacked with reclaimed wood. At the center of it all is Mike Grindstaff.
Before visiting Wilmington six years ago, Mike and his wife lived on the West Coast. They had grown accustomed to the weather and laid-back lifestyle, and never imagined they would leave. However, that all changed after their visit to Wilmington. They fell in love with the coastal community and found alarming similarities to their home thousands of miles away. “It was a no brainer for us, we got double the square footage for half the cost, not to mention the place is beautiful,” Mike laughed, and admitted he is slowly learning how to integrate himself into the southern lifestyle.
Mike grew up in a family that made a living working with their hands. His grandfather, a wood worker, taught him that everything has a purpose. If there were tools he didn’t have, he would make them. Mike has carried these lessons with him to Roadhouse, and has since made his own router table and hundreds of guitars out of wood that others would have written off as useless. Every year, thousands of guitars are shipped to Wilmington in individual boxes. Most of which will end up in a landfill rather than being recycled. Roadhouse has agreements with various music stores around the area to use the boxes to ship his own guitars. While Mike admits Roadhouse isn’t necessarily green on purpose, he definitely believes the business coincidently has a, “green angle.”
The guitar making process starts with salvaging wood from various places around Wilmington. Old wood from local buildings, doors, and even a steamboat paddle wheel were used to make guitars for his clients. What makes Roadhouse different than large manufacturers is that there is a story behind every guitar that leaves the shop, “ I salvage the wood myself, and I always make sure to get the story behind it.” Mike believes that the guitar is an extension of the client’s personality so instead of having droves of guitars in back stock, every guitar is custom made to meet his client’s unique specifications. Before sending the finished product out, Mike posts a video of him playing the guitar for his clients to watch. He jokes that the video is, “proof of life,” and to show that not only does it look good, but it plays well too.
In a world where technology and new trends have taken over, Roadhouse has managed to find the potential in things deemed too old. Mike hopes that every guitar that leaves his shop is passed on to others and continually played, further extending the story of the piece and those who have owned it. As a local business in Wilmington, Roadhouse protects the history of the city by integrating it into their guitars, ensuring the story lives on. While some prefer new guitars with perfect finishes, others have flocked to Roadhouse for the exact opposite. Mike vividly remembers an encounter with someone looking at one of his guitars that said, “ It looks like an old park bench,” to which Mike replied, “exactly.”
Photos courtesy of Peyton Scot.
Derek Linder is a Broker with Nest Realty Wilmington. Derek works tirelessly to ensure that his clients receive outstanding customer service, and to showcase everything the Wilmington lifestyle has to offer.