At the edge of downtown, behind a bright red, guitar neck-knobbed door, lies Atom Heart Music, Pullman’s sole music shop. And at its heart is owner Vic Hudak.

Growing up primarily in Pullman and graduating from WSU in 1991, Hudak felt the lack of a music store over three decades before he opened Atom Heart in 2004.

“Music is universal and transcendental. To be able to encourage music in other people I think is important kind of anywhere.”

Vic Hudak, owner of Atom Heart Music

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Upon entering, you hear first the jingling bell above the door and second Hudak’s amiable greeting.

He welcomes you to a shop interspersed with a medley of memorabilia and musical oddities which give the place a vintage feel.

Hung beside the front window is one of Hudak’s favorites: a kook-a-la-lee, manufactured in late 1970s California. A ukulele with an elongated headstock, it is designed to stick in the sand while its owner surfs, and typically well-worn as a result. He says it’s the only one he’s ever seen, a real “museum piece.”

Hudak strolls through the shop, identifying the most peculiar items. He points to a curious guitar/mandolin double neck. A ’58, the crossbreed is one of his older instruments.

He fondly plays an avocado-green Fender Rhodes piano, a customer favorite with a groovy late-’60s tone.

So far they have each been his favorite as he arrived at them.

“It’s kind of like asking ‘What’s your favorite child?’” he says, grinning.

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These samples of musical history are the core of Atom Heart, but the shop provides everything from entry-level acoustic guitars and saxophones to public address equipment.

While many music shops, particularly in larger areas, have a reputation for snobbery, he says, Atom Heart tries to be as friendly and accommodating as possible.

“We’re pretty hands-on people here,” he says. “We like people to feel comfortable about trying stuff out.

“We’ll let kids try things out within reason,” he laughs.

And if the kids, or adults, like what they see, the shop offers lessons on piano, guitar, bass, drums, violin and cello each week.

For Hudak, bringing music to the residents of his hometown is one of the highlights of the job.

“Hopefully we make an impact on the community in a really positive way,” he says. “I think music is one of the most important things in a lot of people’s lives.”

Years ago, a talented young boy who had been taking lessons on guitar at the store suddenly stopped showing up.

Sometime later his mother came into the store and explained the boy’s father had died in an avalanche.

Atom Heart had been the most meaningful thing in her son’s life, she said. Music had become his calling. He would be performing at his prom.

“It’s pretty weird to think that you could affect someone so drastically,” he says. “That’s probably the most redeeming feeling.”

The bell above the door jingles.

A mother and father have come to pick up their son. Hudak greets them warmly, invites them to sit in on the lesson.

“Invariably, you’re gonna see me here.”

Vic Hudak, owner of Atom Heart Music

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The bell has sounded every few minutes for an hour, but it doesn’t always ring so regularly.

Maintaining a store in a college town comes with unique challenges. Business slows at Atom Heart as students come and go throughout the year, particularly in the summer.

WSU’s loss of funding during the recession greatly affected Atom Heart, he says. He didn’t see a financial uptick until 2015 after a downhill trend beginning in 2008.

Hudak says while he has good days, there are some which end with a near-empty till. At times he has worried he would not be able to stay open.

“Pullman’s not an easy place to run a business,” he says.

Since the recession forced him to cut three employees, Hudak has manned his post six days a week. Though he has six instructors, he manages the store with only the help of his wife, Gabrielle Schilling, who joined him when they married in 2012.

“Invariably,” he says, “you’re gonna see me here.”

And inevitably, in all that time, he’s gotten to know people – “thousands and thousands” of them.

Having lived in Pullman off and on since 1979, both Hudak and his family have become deeply ingrained in the Pullman community.

“I might know half of the people that come into the store on any given day already,” he says.

Of all the relationships Hudak has developed through music, one stands out: He and Schilling met during a gig his band played at Rico’s Public House in 2010 and began dating immediately after.

“We’re kind of inseparable since,” he says.

Though he doesn’t play shows anymore, Hudak remembers a more musically-inclined Pullman.

During his time at WSU, he said, the university organized a show every month, if not every other week. Bars throughout town hosted bands each week and any student group could rent out the CUB basement for shows.

“Pullman could do with more art and music in general,” he says.

He knows this begins with cultivating an interest in the community, and to this he devotes six days of his life each week.

“Music is universal and transcendental,” he says. “To be able to encourage music in other people I think is important kind of anywhere.”

The bell rings again as the bright red, guitar neck-knobbed door swings open. Several more newcomers.

Hudak welcomes them each by name.