Bobby Ferris, the owner of Big Apple Music, remembers the first thing he ever sold when he opened his store in Watertown. It was a radar detector. That was in October 15, 1984 when he set up a small shop on Franklin Street in the back of one of the city’s first movie rental stores. A quarter century later, Ferris has a 5,000-square foot store off Arsenal Street. The store is filled with state-of-the-art televisions, audio systems, car alarms, remote starters and other electronics. His jovial employees tease Ferris as he proudly points to something on the wall―it’s the first dollar he earned from that radar detector sale. “I look at that sometimes and a big smile comes on my face,” Ferris said, “It’s like when you look at your kids’ pictures when they were young and you look at how great they turned out. That’s what I think about when I see the dollar. It’s just kind of special.”

It’s amazing to think that dollar is still in existence. Ferris says he started the business by sinking $6,000, everything he had, into his inventory. That first year, he lost $12,000. So how did he turn things around? “My parents always said you can do whatever you want to, you just have to work for it,” he said. “No one’s going to give it to you and when things get tough, you can either close the doors or you can figure it out. I’m one of those stubborn guys that always tries to figure it out.”

Ferris began working with electronics when he was 14 and growing up in St. Johnsville, 30 miles east of Utica. “My brother would go to my cousins’ store in Utica and buy stereo equipment and he’d bring it back home and try to install it in the cars back then. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t. I begged my brother to let me try and started to figure things out. Things always seemed to work out for me,” said Ferris.

His cousins own Big Apple Imports in Utica, where Ferris worked after graduating from SUNY Alfred. His cousin, John, made a suggestion that would change his life. “He said, ‘Hey, Camp Drum is going to be turning into Fort Drum and you can go up there and start your own business.’” said Ferris. “At the time we had a store in Rome, where Griffiss Air Force Base was, so we realized it was a good opportunity. I didn’t realize how long it took to build a base and bring the people in. Or how hard it was to start a new business.”
While building his business, Ferris took other part-time jobs. He worked as a bouncer at Tommy’s Nightclub, which was located where Massey’s Furniture Barn’s mattress store is now. A year later, Ferris married, took a job at a paper mill and moved from Franklin Street to Big Apple Music’s current location, the former site of Tommy’s Roast Beef.

Ferris explained, “Tommy Arvin owned the bar and the roast beef shop, and was kind enough to give me the restaurant location, so I could keep trying to grow my business. So, I had a 1,000-square foot store. I worked at Champion Paper Mill during the day for about a year and a half, and I ran the store. My brother, Billy, came up to help run the store during the day when I was working, and we keep the store open until 11:30-12 o’clock most nights. That’s when people would come to the bar behind us. We’d leave the store open and people would come in, and we’d just talk to them, show them stuff, relax and have fun and do what you had to do to develop clientele. They didn’t really have money to buy stereo systems at midnight, but hopefully, we’d build a bond and get them back in later. Many of them still come in to see me.”

Eventually, Ferris left the mill job to devote all his time to the store, “which meant 9 a.m. to 10-11 p.m. every day,” he recalled. “In 1988 my wife Deb and I had our son, Zachary, and we decided that she would be a stay-at-home mom. This meant I had to figure out how to make it on just one income. Three years later, our daughter Kristina was born and our family was complete.”

Ferris continued, “I didn’t build this business or make it successful on my own. It starts with my wife and family who have always believed in me and supported me. It was never just about making money. It was about making a life for my family and making new friends along the way. Big Apple gave me both. The store has allowed me to really enjoy my family. So maybe the first ten or twelve years were really hard―I’m still a very blessed individual.”

Big Apple Music became one of the first stores in the area to sell car alarms and remote car starters. Finally, around 2000, the store started making money. Today, Ferris employs 12 full-time workers.

“We’ve been successful for the last probably ten years―showing a profit each of the last ten years. That’s mainly due to the staff that we have,” said Ferris. “Our staff acts as if every customer is the most important customer. It’s great because the salespeople and the installers we have all understand that we work for the customer. They know they don’t just work for me. If I work for the customers and I portray that attitude to my guys, my guys pick that up. Then they care about the customers’ needs and that’s what makes us successful. If your staff is well-trained and knowledgeable and they have the right equipment, you can serve your customers better. I’m really proud to say I have the best trained staff around.”

During the last five to six years, the company has expanded into wiring homes and businesses for telephone, internet, cable, satellite systems, and stereo systems throughout the house with touch panels. Flat panel TV installations and custom home theater systems have been a big part of the expansion, and Ferris said, “It’s been a lot of fun.”

Ferris purchased property on Route 11 near Fort Drum’s main gate in hopes of someday building a second store. “We could use more space, but it’s really important to be streamlined and efficient in this type of market. Getting bigger doesn’t mean you’re better,” he said. “It’s where we want to go for a second location just because I believe that, as Fort Drum continues its expansion, a second location will be viable. Right now the most important thing is to concentrate on the main store and serve our current customers.”
Ferris says his desire to serve led him to campaign for the Jefferson County Legislature this past fall. A Republican candidate, he won the District 11 seat, which includes the towns of Watertown and Rutland. “I wanted to serve the people because the area has given so much to me and my family,” he said. “I’m grateful and I just wanted to help out.” Ferris takes office in January. “This is a good time for it,” he said. “Now that my son is in the Air Force and my daughter is in college, I’m not running to lacrosse games, track meets and dance competitions. I have more time.”

Ferris is still as committed as ever to his store. “Technology changes all the time―almost on a daily basis. My guys become more and more trained, more and more specialized, whether it be custom car installations, basic car radio installations or custom home installations. Everything is more detail-oriented and more complicated,” he said. “We’ve always done well even when other stores would come into our market. The big box stores are a reality, but we can compete with their prices and definitely beat their service. We don’t have their overhead and we’re able to quickly modify our prices and services. If a person wants sales and service from knowledgeable people at the lowest prices, they come here.”

At age 46, Ferris is looking forward to the next quarter century for Big Apple. “I see the store growing and I see more than one location in the next 25 years. I have always loved working in electronics and being my own boss. It’s great to make a living doing something you love. It’s a happy time in my life. I’ve gotten to know a lot of good people, made a lot of great friends and have enjoyed working with my employees through the last 25 years. What more could a man ask for from a job? God has truly blessed me.”

Article written by Diane Rutherford