Comment on Sam Ash Music was a South Florida staple. It’s ‘extremely painful’ to close stores, family CEO says.

Joe Schnessel sits at a drum kit in a back room of the Sam Ash store in Margate, keeping time with a familiar classic rock song before he’s paged to take a phone call from a customer inquiring about the company’s ongoing liquidation sale. He explains to the caller that the 5% discount on drum and accessories — the opening offer in what figures to be a three-month-long wind down — was just increased to a 10% discount the day before. He says he knows it’s not a big discount but tells the customer that he might want to come into the store and check out the selection. Drum salesman Joe Schnessel plays the drums in between customers at the Sam Ash Margate store on Friday, May 17, 2024.