About Family Piano Co
Why the Piano?
Music changes lives, and pianos are the backbone of Western music. A piano is a friend for life, and learning to play opens many doors.
Why Customers Love Us
Our 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!
Founder and head tech Alice Alviani (upper left) with vice president Linda Charboneau (right) and president Brendan Alviani (at piano).
Pianos You Can Trust
Every piano in our showroom is in the best condition it can be and backed by a warranty. Our piano technicians tune and service each piano when it arrives, while it’s here, and before it’s delivered to your home.
Stress-Free Shopping
Buying a piano should be fun! So we never get pushy or use sales tactics to “close deals.” Instead, we focus on education. Even if only curious about piano, we’d love to give you a tour and let you play as much as you want!
Worry-Free Ownership
Taking care of your piano can be daunting. That’s why we include a warranty with every purchase, and have a digital technician on-staff. And if you ever have any piano-related questions, advice is just a call away.
Lowest Prices Guaranteed
Every piano in our showroom is clearly labeled with the lowest prices you’ll find in the Chicago area. And if you do find a better price, we’ll match it – and still give you our unbeatable service and guarantees.
Experts You Can Rely On
Since opening in 2006, we’ve become the best-reviewed piano stores in the area. Our staff is full of piano lovers, and we have the largest team of techs in the Midwest.
Satisfied Families
Pianos for Sale
Years of Tech Experience
Benefits of Piano
3 Reasons to Get a Piano
Get Smart
Learn problem-solving skills. Boost brain development.
Get Kind
Improve your empathy and emotional intelligence.
Get Happy
Reduce stress and anxiety. Gain a healthy outlet for your emotions.
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 piano!
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.
#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.
My son and I started learning how to play the piano during the brunt of the pandemic. During our studies we came to a part where we needed to view how a piano works. I called the store and they were more than happy to have us come and look. . . MIND BLOWN!!
I wasn’t in a position to buy. It is rare though where service is so good that you wish you could.
Family Piano is the best piano shopping experience in Chicagoland.
They took the time to ask questions about my projected uses, whether I needed all the bells and whistles, and my experience level and made recommendations that were well within my budget.
Put simply, if you are in the market for a new or used piano (digital or acoustic) then you must visit Family Piano.
I go to school outside of Illinois, but I made the long journey to Waukegan IL, because I heard great things about their customer service.
Everyone who works at Family Piano Company is highly trained and knowledgeable about digital, upright, and grand pianos.
They are extremely friendly and go the extra mile to make sure you find the perfect piano for your needs.
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!
Acoustic Showroom
Digital Showroom
Meet the Team
Hover over our pictures to read a bit about the people behind the pianos!
Brendan is Alice’s son, and he began in the family business in 2010. He’s worked as a barista, sales rep, sales manager and is now the president!
He’s really knowledgeable about the piano industry — and geeky about AI too!
Brendan Alviani
President
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!
Linda Charboneau
VP & Office Manager
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 hopes to “save every piano puppy.”
Alice Alviani
Founder & Head Technician
Andrew is in charge of coordinating our tech team.
As an experienced tech himself, he’s good at diagnosing problems and communicating with customers and fellow techs.
He’s also a dedicated member of the Piano Technicians Guild!
Andrew Warden
Service Manager
Drew runs our various online channels, and he loves solving problems for the rest of the staff.
He loves talking music, plays guitar, and swears he’ll learn to play piano some day.
Drew Guifarro
Marketing Manager
Max helps customers find the perfect piano for their home, makes videos, writes articles, and teaches piano too!
He’s a brilliant pianist, and in all the demos he’s recorded for us, he’s never repeated a song twice!
Max Filkins
Sales Manager
Rick is the newest member of the team! He works with customers, and supports the rest of the staff on projects.
He’s an avid musician, and he has a touching tone at a piano.
Rick Austin
Sales Associate
Bing Jiang
Technician & Sales Associate
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!
Paul Durand
Digital Technician
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!
Susi Hernandez
Apprentice
Antonio became 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!
Antonio Harnden
Technician
Eric used to be a barista during the Joplin’s Java day. After venturing out and picking up some management experience, he rejoined the family business as a dedicated tech.
Eric Alviani
Technician
Tim Brown
Technician
Terry Teraoka
Apprentice
David Westerdahl
Technician
Come Pick Out Your Piano
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You can also call us at (847) 775-1988, email us at [email protected], or start a chat.