History

BOBB'S Pianos & Organs is a third generation family owned and operated business that was founded by Robert D. "BOBB" Messingschlager in 1953. He was known in the music industry as "Mr. BOBB." As a young man he began his lifelong career in pianos by working in the cabinetry department for the Baldwin Piano Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. As his skills increased he devoted more and more of his spare time to restoring and refinishing old pianos for resale as his work was of such caliber that it was greatly in demand. At one point he began buying up older tall pianos that no one wanted. He'd remove the front top replacing it with a mirror, giving the illusion of the piano being smaller and thus more acceptable in the market place. Mr. BOBB was well on his way to creating his own niche in the piano industry. Soon he was stockpiling rebuilt and refinished pianos. When he had enough he would load a truck and travel to dealers selling his inventory at wholesale. Normally by the time he reached Atlanta his stock was gone but one time he made it all the way into Florida. There he fell in love with the sun, sand, and surf and decided to move his family and work full-time in the new business.

After moving Bobb started working out his garage. It was a family affair with his wife Peggy spending her days unstringing the used pianos and readying them for rebuilding. He was still only selling to dealers. That changed because at one time when there was a lull in the business, he couldn't find a dealer to buy a grand piano that he had just spent a lot of time and money rebuilding. So he ran a classified ad in the local paper and quickly the piano was sold to a retail customer. He had discovered retail and he liked what he found. He quickly moved his shop from his garage into a larger industrial location in Hallandale and the business grew. Over time he noticed that more and more customers would ask for "new". He and Peggy decided to do something about that and soon Bobb's became the new piano dealer for the Janssen Piano Company. This was shortly followed by the Story & Clark organ franchise. Growth and expansion continued at a rapid pace. In 1970 BOBB'S expanded to West Palm Beach and then to Fort Lauderdale.

BOBB'S Pianos & Organs has always been a family run operation. His wife Peggy not only helped prep pianos for rebuilding, but was responsible for accounting and inventory management. The three children, Michael, Michelle and Mark have all worked in the business since they were in their early teens. In 1997 Mr. BOBB suffered a stroke and Michael stepped in to handle the day-to-day operations. Michael was fully prepared for this position having spent his entire life actively learning all aspects of the business. In addition he has a professional degree in business from the University of Florida. With the passing of Mr. BOBB in August 2003 the reins have passed to Michael to keep the tradition of integrity, quality products, excellent service, value for consumers and great selection alive and well in South Florida. Now, Michael`s son Brandon is keeping the tradition alive by following in both his grandfather`s and father`s footsteps. BOBB'S has won many awards and accolades through the years for these qualities and the company plans to continue these achievements into the future for years to come.