Yale’s Music Shop has announced it will not reopen its retail store after 35 years in business.
The announcement comes just months after a school bus crashed into the side of the building, located on South Main Street in Athens.
Athens Borough Police arrested 42-year-old Jason Wayne Houghtalen following the incident. He was charged with felony theft by unlawful taking and criminal mischief along with other related charges.
Houghtalen is accused of stealing a small school bus from the Dandy Mini Mart parking lot and crashing it into the Yale’s building.
In a Facebook post, Yale’s announced it would not reopen its retail store, but they will continue to serve the community through musical instrument repairs and restorations.
The business is currently accepting instruments for repair. They will also continue their rental service for instruments.
Products that survived the crash and were not affected by asbestos, will be sold on the Yale’s Music Shop Facebook page.
Owners David and Jediah Yale will soon announce a rebranded repair and restoration business on their Facebook page.
Here is the complete statement from Yale’s Music Shop:
To our community, patrons, friends, and family:
We deeply apologize for the minimal communication since a bus drove through the exterior wall of Yale’s Music Shop on May 25, 2025. The lack of communication has been due to the complex process through which our family has been collaborating with insurance companies, and various sub-contractors. We were not permitted in the building for one month due to the necessity of evaluating the structural integrity of the building following such a large hole in the exterior wall. Once the structural integrity was cleared, we began cleaning but were halted again by an insurance assessor who was trained in asbestos exposure. The insurance assessor stated that due to the age of the building, the debris must be tested for asbestos before we could continue, because there was a high likelihood that asbestos would be present in the debris. The debris tested positive for asbestos, which completely changed the trajectory of our recovery process. After meeting with multiple commercial asbestos companies and seeking guidance from insurance assessors, Sunshine Indoor Environmental (Dalton, PA) was chosen to perform asbestos abatement for all product and content inside Yale’s Music Shop. The asbestos abatement process began on Wednesday, September 10th, 2025.
The most important thing of which to be mindful about asbestos is that it is imperceptible to the naked eye and it is fibrous, which means it will cling to anything with a porous surface. Consequently, we have lost a vast majority of product due to the amount of asbestos, including but not limited to the following: all sheet music and music books, cloth-covered cabling, guitar straps, amplifiers (because of the cloth grills) and, possibly most heartbreaking of all, acoustic instruments because they have unfinished wood on the inside. In addition to the product loss, our family has also lost all the fixtures and displays that held instruments, music, parts, and accessories throughout Yale’s Music Shop. We were only able to recover a small amount of product, which included most solid-bodied instruments, smaller boxed items, and smooth plastic and cardboard materials, because the surfaces could be cleaned properly.
The extensive loss of product and fixtures due to both asbestos and the initial damage incurred by the incident, has forced the family to step back and evaluate the status of Yale’s Music Shop. It is with a very heavy heart that the Yale family has concluded that we cannot recover from the devastating loss as a small, family owned, retail business in the current economic landscape. Like most other small businesses in recent times, it has been a great struggle to stay relevant in a digital world, and this loss is the final breaking point from which Yale’s Music Shop could no longer recover. Therefore, Yale’s Music Shop will not reopen as a retail store selling instruments, accessories, sheet music/books, and musical lessons.
Moving forward, David and Jediah Yale have decided to refocus their energy and continue serving our amazing community through their niche in musical instrument repairs and restorations. During the asbestos abatement period, the family has built a workshop from which David and Jediah can repair and restore instruments. They have begun providing smaller services as we work on getting back to where we can do what we love, servicing our wonderful community. Although our retail store is closing, we will rebrand as a repair and restoration business to continue offering the same exceptional care and service you have known for the past 35 years.
When the time is right, we will announce the new business name, which will include a rebranding of our current Facebook page. As this transition occurs, we will be listing products for sale on our current YMS Facebook page. If requested the product will come with a certification of asbestos abatement. We will also accept communication through our Yale’s Music Shop Facebook page and Facebook Messenger to schedule needed services with our customers. We will also continue to provide a rental service for band & orchestra instruments for the foreseeable future.
There are no words to express the level of gratitude the Yale family feels toward this community for all the love, support, care, patience, and respect you have shown our Yale’s Music Shop family. Our gratitude extends beyond your response to the devastating incident and our current challenges, to the business you have given us throughout the past 35 years. We have poured our hearts and souls into supporting the musicians and music education in our community.
Your patronage, business, and friendship have meant the world to us. Our hope is that you continue making a joyful noise.
Thank you and God Bless,
The Yale’s Music Family
