Family-owned, and operated businesses are like dinosaurs in today’s economy, especially in small rural towns. Those that have survived can count on blessings and a clientele that is built on customer service, quality of product and inventory.
Larry’s Pawn and Music will note 60 years of business in Deming with an anniversary celebration on Saturday, April 30, 2022.
Coby Dennison, 26, and Bailey Sanchez, 24, took over the business when their father Larry Dennison succumbed to a brief illness back in November of 2021. Larry took over the business back in 1974 when his father Larry Sr. died.
It appears history has a way of repeating itself, as the two Dennison siblings are now put into ownership of the joined businesses.
“This has special meaning to Coby and I seeing how our grandfather started the business and the way my dad had to take it on being as young as he was,” Bailey said. Larry was 19 and a senior in high school when he took over for Larry Sr.
“I know it was hard for him (Larry) being all alone when he took over and having my brother with me has been a lifesaver as he and I move forward with the business,” Bailey added.
The siblings were thrust into the business with their father’s sudden passing. Coby and Bailey had mapped out career paths.
The detour for both is turning out to be a welcomed change in the road as they learn the businesses of pawn and music and get acquainted with the local clientele.
“My dad learned the pawn business and was good at it, but his passion was his music,” Coby said. “He was a big drummer and brought in the music store into the business in the early 1980s.”
The clientele built over the past 60 years was a love affair, according to Coby. “The customers were loyal to by dad because they loved him, and he loved them right back. “They knew they would get a fair deal and that my dad would go the extra mile to help families out when they needed it.”
Coby added that the customer base has remained loyal to he and Bailey based on the love they had for their father. “They still come in today and tell us what our father meant to them and to see what they can deal with us,” he said.
Having grown up in the pawn business was helpful but there is still a lot to learn for the siblings. Both pawn and music are a whole new industry for them. They also had career paths that are now on hold. Coby, a 2014 Deming High graduate, has a degree in business from New Mexico State University and Bailey, a 2016 DHS graduate, is a local businesswoman and mother of two boys, with a girl on the way.
“It has been fun working here,” Bailey says. “We see people from all walks of life and with many talents. Some will speak highly of our father and tell us stories about him that we never knew. They tell us how happy they are that we are doing our father’s work.”
Saturday’s celebration will be held during regular business hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Ortiz Food Truck will be dishing out their specials, Copper Kettle will bring drinks and desserts, and there will be live music. “We plan to raffle off some guns and a guitar,” Bailey said. “And we are still planning more activities.”
Larry’s Pawn and Music is located at 922 E. Pine Street in Deming. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Read the full story here: https://www.demingheadlight.com/story/news/2022/04/26/larrys-pawn-music-come-celebrate-60-years-serving-deming/9541611002/
