If customers stop by Guitar House Workshop in the summertime, they might leave with a few vegetables in hand.
Operating out of a reclaimed house at 1423 Chambers Road near Grandview Heights, the shop was a dream of its owner, John Bolzenius, that came to life.
Beyond music lessons, guitar repair and an array of stringed instruments available for purchase, visitors will find a lush garden out back that is tended by Bolzenius’ wife, artist Linda Langhorst.
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Through both the food and the music, the pair feeds their community.
“Music is salvation for a lot of people. It’s a lot of people’s religion. It’s mine. We sell instruments and accessories, but really, what we’re here for is to help people on their musical trip,” Bolzenius says.
Passionate about gardening and tackling food insecurity, Langhorst says she loves it when people, especially kids, can see that their food comes from the earth.
When she met Bolzenius, she was serving with South Side Community Ministries, a food pantry operating in Merion Village. At the time, the food pantry was struggling to make ends meet.
“It’s all donations, and we didn’t have enough funds,” Langhorst explains. Gesturing to her husband, she laughs that his answer to everything is holding a concert. “We had a benefit concert, and then Guitar House got more involved from that point on.”
Guitar House Workshop since has been a partner of the pantry, representing the couple’s commitment to making their business a reflection of what they believe and bringing people together in a divided era. “There have to be places where we get together and do things together in spite of our differences. To me, music is one of those few holdouts,” Bolzenius says.
Over the years, the shop has collected thousands of dollars to donate to the pantry. In its largest year, over $5,000 was collected, Langhorst says. While some of these donations are made through cash or check, she says many are just made the old-fashioned way: with cash collected in a jar and handed over to the pantry.
Additionally, the pantry’s governing board now includes three members who became involved through the shop. Each month, Guitar House Workshop sends a team of volunteers to help with food delivery, unloading thousands of pounds of food purchased from the Mid-Ohio Food Collective.
“Hungry kids need to get fed. It doesn’t matter your politics. It’s hard to argue with 100 kids in need,” Langhorst says. “People work together. They work next to each other, and they realize they’re not all that different.”
This article was made possible by support from the Center for HumanKindness at The Columbus Foundation, which has partnered with Columbus Monthly to profile those making our community a better place. Help us inspire kindness by suggesting people, initiatives, or organizations for Reporter Sophia Veneziano to profile. She can be reached at sveneziano@dispatch.com. Learn more at ColumbusMonthly.com/Kindness.
This story appeared in the July 2025 issue of Columbus Monthly. Subscribe here.
This article originally appeared on Columbus Monthly: Music Feeds Hungry Souls at Guitar House Workshop
Reporting by Sophia Veneziano, Columbus Monthly / Columbus Monthly
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