'I needed to keep the music in Amherstburg': 21-year-old musician turns into entrepreneur
Bethany D’Alimonte didn’t want the music to end.
“He was going to close up shop and I couldn't let that happen,” said the 21-year-old who was an employee of Musicland in Amherstburg.
She had also been a student at the store when she was young.
“I started playing music when I was seven right in this very building right in that back room was my first piano lesson,” she said.
The owner was planning on closing the business which has been there since 1986 but D’Alimonte wasn't about to let that happen.
“I needed to do it to keep the music in Amherstburg,” she said.
Bethany grew up around music. Her dad, at one point, was a partner of Musicland.
“Taught music here in the store. Had many students and we were playing in the band five-six nights a week,” said John D’Alimonte.
In February, Bethany, a business and marketing student at St. Clair College, made her pitch and took over the music store.
It was a full circle moment for her dad.
“It makes you feel proud. She's now got students. She's teaching. She has teachers here,” he said.
One of the teachers, Mrs. Farmer, is a lady who taught piano to Bethany when she first started.
“She's taught me all of the things I needed to know about music and applying my knowledge from school into the real business world. She’s awesome,” D’Alimonte said.
The young new boss is part of a revitalization that continues in and around Richmond Street and this business will now become a hub for music and creativity.
“Giving the community a space to learn and create is something special just because I had that when I was a kid,” she said.
Anne Creery, general manager of the Amherstburg Chamber of Commerce, is hopeful the growth in the area continues.
“There's a number of other things that I'm sure will come because when you have this kind of business it tends to attract more business,” Creery said.
Also on the horizon for the district are a boutique hotel and the re-development of the old Duffy site.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Saskatchewan isn't remitting the carbon tax on home heating. Why isn't my province following suit?
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
RCMP officers had no legal authority to enter man's home, make arrest: B.C. court
A B.C. man has been found not guilty of assaulting two RCMP officers – with the court finding he was resisting an "unlawful entry and arrest" in his home before he was tasered, taken down and hauled away in handcuffs.
Body of Quebec man who died in Cuba found in Russia, family confirms
A Montreal-area family confirmed to CTV News that the body of their loved one who died while on vacation in Cuba is being repatriated to Canada after it was mistakenly sent to Russia.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.