FEBRUARY 25, 2019 VOL. 55, No. 8
westfaironline.com
School of rock THE OWNER OF THE WHITE PLAINS LOCATION WAS FIRST A STUDENT
Jeff Silverman, owner of the White Plains School of Rock, sits near the school’s check-in desk. Photo by Ryan Deffenbaugh.
INSIDE PAGE
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EVOLUTION OF RETAIL
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FROM HOCKEY STARDOM TO ENERGY EFFICIENCY
BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH rdeffenbaugh@westfairinc.com
J
eff Silverman opened the latest Westchester County location for the national music education franchise School of Rock in December at 242 Central Ave. in White Plains, but his interest in the franchise dates back to 2013. He had just left a career in the apparel industry and was looking to get back into music. Though he played guitar in high school he wanted to learn drums, so he stopped into the School of Rock near his home in
Bedford. He figured the school was just for kids, but they might be able to hook him up with an instructor for private lessons. “Lo and behold, they tell me they have an adult program where I’ll be placed with a private instructor and then put in a band,” Silverman recalled. “And then eventually you get to play out in a real, live venue.” To that, he said, “sign me up.” Today, he is the one signing people up. His school offers lessons for kids starting at age 5 through adults. School of Rock — founded in 1998
before the Jack Black film and 2015 Broadway show helped bring fame to the name — is a national franchise with more than 220 schools worldwide that teaches drums, guitar, bass, keys and vocals. Silverman spent more than three years at School of Rock in Bedford before ending his lessons and starting his own band, called Exit 5. You can find them playing bars and restaurants around northern Westchester. But beyond learning a new instrument, Silverman was looking for a new » SCHOOL
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PAYLESS SHOESOURCE FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY; TO CLOSE STORES IN THE REGION BY PHIL HALL and BOB ROZYCKI phall@westfairinc.com bobr@westfairinc.com PAYLESS SHOESOURCE WORLDWIDE filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Feb. 18 following an announcement that it would be closing all of its 2,500 U.S. stores, including 20 in Fairfield County and the Westchester/Hudson Valley region. According to the filing
made in U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Eastern District of Missouri, the Topeka-based shoe retailer has between 50,000 and 100,000 creditors with the top 50 creditors having total unsecured claims of $79.6 million. The company has estimated assets of between $500 million and $1 billion, with estimated liabilities in the same monetary range. Store closings will begin at the end of March and » PAYLESS
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