About Family Piano Co
The piano is the backbone of Western music. Learning to play lays a huge foundation for music education, and playing offers tons of benefits.
Pianos should be accessible to everyone. And buying and owning one should be easy.
Family Piano’s mission is to support the piano-playing community with high-quality instruments at affordable prices. We also offer our expertise in tuning and repair, and promote music education through lessons, concerts, workshops, and content.
Why Do Our Customers Love Us?
Technician-Operated
Every piano in our showroom is ready for you to play. And that’s thanks to our tech team.
We have the largest team in the Chicagoland area, and they meticulously service each piano when it arrives, while it’s here, and right before it goes.
Plus, our techs can fine-tune pianos to meet your specific preferences, and they can keep taking care of the piano once it’s moved into your home!
No Pressure Sales
Buying a piano shouldn’t be stressful.
So we don’t use cliché sales tactics just to close deals here. Instead, we keep the buying process simple, focus on education, and try to inspire an appreciation for pianos and their benefits.
By the time you leave our showroom, we guarantee you’ll have a better understanding of pianos — and which is best for your home!
Lowest Prices Guaranteed
We like working with all budgets. So we never yo-yo our prices for “Weekend Sales,” and we don’t like to haggle much either.
Our inventory is priced low and competitively from the beginning. And if you do find a better deal, we’re happy to match it!
Friendly & Knowledgeable Staff
We have staff members from all kinds of music backgrounds. If you need help making a decision, we’re happy to share our collective advice on playing and learning.
And if you’re a beginner, we love giving complete tours to explain the different kinds of pianos too!
Our Support — Forever!
Taking care of your piano and learning to play it can be daunting.
To help, every purchase includes a free tuning, warranty, and free admission to our group class.
We love keeping up with our customers, and we love posting educational content in our blog!
#1 Rated Piano Store in Chicagoland
We’ve gotten the most 5-Star Reviews of any piano retailer in the Chicagoland area. Here are snippets from a few that have given us big smiles.
Family Piano’s History
Nov 2006 - Grand Opening
After working out of her garage for years, Alice Alviani founded Family Piano with Mark MacLeod, a good friend and experienced Steinway technician.
The two of them started with a single showroom and a ton of ambition.
Oct 2007 - Joplin's Java
Alice and Mark quickly realized more space was needed for pianos, lessons, concerts — and customers!
So we opened Joplin’s Java next door, a coffee shop inside what is now Waukegan’s Sunroom.
While coffee and events were fun, Joplin’s was eventually closed in 2013.
Nov 2010 - Mark Passes, New Management Joins
Mark fought kidney failure for a few years. And while Alice was scheduled to donate one of hers in December 2010, Mark passed suddenly just a few weeks beforehand.
Around this time, Alice’s son, Brendan, and our office manager, Linda, joined the team, both eventually becoming vice presidents.
March 2014 - Kawai Dealer
Saphir’s Pianos was a local Kawai dealer in Wilmette, IL. When they closed, the owner put in a good word for us with Kawai.
Family Piano has been regularly recognized by Kawai since. In 2017, Brendan was even invited to their Hamamatsu factory in Japan for being one of their best salespeople in North America.
Jan 2015 - School of Music
After 8 years of hosting lessons, our teachers were in dire need of more space.
So when the Genesee Street storefront became available, we moved in and built 5 more studios.
At its height, Family Piano’s School of Music had over a dozen teachers teaching 200+ students weekly.
Nov 2016 - Riverside Room
Setting up chairs and stage equipment for Friday night concerts then taking it all down to sell pianos Saturday morning. . . it was getting cumbersome.
When the room downstairs became available, we invested in new equipment, and opened the Riverside Room, our little dedicated venue.
Dec 2019 – Niles Location
Alice, Brendan and Linda had been back-and-forth on the idea for a while.
But finally in Fall of 2019, we began the process of opening our second location in the Golf Mill Mall.
We got a lot closer to Chicago and gained even more space for pianos. We kept the same great staff and quality service though!
Sep 2022 – Simplification
Shortly after closing our venue and School of Music, we decided to make another big shift in priorities.
To focus on being the best piano store possible, we stopped selling other musical instruments and sheet music. Full commitment to pianos only!
Feb 2023 – Management Changes
In early 2023, Alice made the decision to semi-retire and step down from her management role at Family Piano.
Alice’s son Brendan stepped up to the position of President after 13 years of service in the company.
360° Virtual Tour of Waukegan
Click on the top right-hand corner to enter full-screen mode. Then look around for a preview of what our store is like!
School of Music
Digital Showroom
Acoustic Showroom
Riverside Room
Office Staff
Brendan Alviani
Alice’s son, Brendan started here soon after graduating from Vanderbilt in 2010. After many years as Vice President, he accended to the role of president in early 2023. He’s really knowledgeable on the piano industry, and loves to play piano too.
President
Linda Charboneau
Bringing years of management experience from her previous job at Karnes Music, Linda is the brains behind daily operations.
Ask anyone here, and they’ll agree: Linda’s always right!
Vice President, Office Manager
Max Filkins
Max recently graduated with a Bachelor of Musical Arts with an emphasis in business. He helps customers find the perfect piano for their home, records demos and videos, writes articles, and teaches piano here too!
Sales Manager
Drew Guifarro
Drew helps run and maintain our various online channels and loves finding ways to “streamline systems.”
He recently became a remote worker, but still loves to help the office however possible!
Marketing Manager
Jessica Méndez
A creative multi-media artist with degrees in graphic design and A/V production, Jessica helps with in-house design work, content creation, and branding. She loves playing guitar, ukulele and piano!
Digital Media and Design
Tech Team
Alice Alviani
A piano technician with 25+ years of experience, Alice has worked all kinds of pianos!
Kind and connected, she loves working to promote the music community, and “save every piano puppy.”
Founder, Technician
Andrew Warden
Andrew is in charge of coordinating our Tech Team. As an experienced technician and tuner himself, he can diagnose difficult problems and communicate well with customers and fellow technicians alike. He’s also a dedicated member of the Piano Technicians Guild!
Service Manager
Paul Durand
An experienced repairman and member of the Musical Instrument Technician Association, Paul’s worked on various electronic components for many decades. He also loves to play bass and sing!
Digital Technician
Antonio Harnden
A more recent addition to the team, Antonio has become a fine technician quite early in his career.
He’s been training to tune pianos since he was 15, and works with — and plays — a variety of instruments!
Technician
Susi Hernandez
A hard-worker and quick-learner, Susi helps prepare the pianos for the showroom floor however she can — from cleaning the action thoroughly to touching up the case!
Apprentice
Ask Us Anything!
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask! Just submit this form, and we'll return your message promptly.
You can also call us at (847) 775-1988 or email us at info@familypiano.com.