Chuck Surack in tune with community
Chuck Surack’s drive is unmatched.
For many people, starting the country’s top music technology and instrument retailer from a Volkswagen minibus would be enough. Well, Surack is not like many.
After building Sweetwater Sound into a billion-dollar company, he sold his majority stake in 2021, but he still remains involved and owns a significant share. Rather than taking it easy, he and his wife, Lisa, chose to focus on expanding Surack Enterprises, which includes The Clyde Theatre, Quimby Village, Sweet Helicopters, SweetCars, The Pearl, Longe Optical, Lakeland Internet, and Whatzup, among others.
In addition to his business ventures, his and Lisa’s philanthropy is embodied in the Surack Family Foundation, which invests in the community and supports local music and arts programs such as Unity Performing Arts Foundation and Arts United. There have also been countless contributions to the Fort Wayne music scene.
On top of establishing Sweetwater, which has helped make the city home to musicians from around the world, he’s been doing his part to make Fort Wayne’s dream of becoming a Top 10 Music City come to fruition. Along with bringing The Clyde Theatre back to life and making Sweetwater Performance Pavilion a reality, his attention is now focused on transforming the former Scottish Rite downtown into a modern performing arts center.
Along with that downtown improvement, he’s built The Pearl and perhaps his crowning achievement, Pearl Street Arts Center, “a community hub for the arts, music education, and entrepreneurship.”
It’s at Pearl Street Arts Center that young musicians come and go each day, learning through private instruction.
“I don’t mean this arrogantly, but of all stuff I’ve been able to do, we opened it up hoping for 100 kids, and we had 500 sign up, and this year we had another 500,” he said. “You fast-forward, in five, six, seven years, we’ll have had thousands of kids through there. It’s going change some of their lives. Most won’t become professional musicians, but they might become a teacher. If nothing else, they’ll definitely have an appreciation for the arts and learning to play an instrument.
“I think that will be more important for my legacy than anything else I’ve done.”
Starting musical journey
When meeting with Surack in his office at the Kaizen Center, the former Pizza Hut headquarters on Jefferson Boulevard, his business acumen is evident as you observe the musical décor surrounding him. Outside of the office, there’s a grand piano in the lobby near life-like miniature sculptures of a jazz band. There are portraits of musicians scattered throughout the building, as well as some synthesizers.
In the office, he points to one of his pictures, that of Boots Randolph, a musician you may not know off the top of your head, but you definitely know his music. Along with performing the saxophone solo in 1958’s “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree,” he’s also behind the iconic song “Yakety Sax,” which became synonymous with British humor when used for The Benny Hill Show.
“Most people don’t know him, but he was part of the five folks that played down in Nashville every day — they did a 10 o’clock, a 2 o’clock, and a 6 o’clock session,” Surack said. “He played on thousands and thousands of other people’s records. He also did 50 of his own albums.
“When he would play medleys of popular songs, you could almost hear the words coming out, because it’s the same range and so emotional.”
It’s the expression and the emulation of the human voice that makes Surack a fan of the saxophone, which he plays in three local bands: PrimeTime, Three Rivers Big Band, and The Sweetwater All Stars.
However, it took some time for him to catch on to all the nuances of the instrument as a youth growing up in Waverly, Ohio.
“Back in those days, every fifth-grader had the opportunity to learn to play an instrument,” he said. “I wanted to play trombone. So, I went and told my mom and dad that. My dad says, ‘You don’t want to play trombone. You want to play saxophone.’ And I said, ‘Why the heck do I want to play saxophone?’ Now, you have to understand, he was an accordion player, played through college and got through school that way.
“So, I asked, ‘Why do I want to play saxophone?’ He says, ‘They get all the solos and all the girls.’ I’m thinking now, knowing what I know today, 50-plus years later, if I’d have known that, he’d have told me to play guitar, but not saxophone.
“Anyway, we bought a saxophone at a local pawn shop in Columbus, Ohio — I was born about an hour south of Columbus. Bought it and I went to this little town I grew up in with 5,000 people on Sunday after I had the horn and I went to the local band director, Mr. Treacher, and I said, ‘Mr. Treacher, check this out.’ Put the mouthpiece on, I honked this most hideous sounding kind of duck sound of a beginning saxophone player. He said, ‘That’s great, but you have the mouthpiece on upside down.’ That was my first and only private lesson. I took band, but never took a private lesson.”
Instead of taking private lessons, Surack not only learned in school but also illustrated what separates him from others when trying to improve.
“Taking private lessons would have been a big help, but I’m also a self-learner in everything,” he said. “Back in those days, we didn’t have YouTube and all those sorts of things — it was records and reading lots of books. So, I literally, at our library, I read every book on every musician I could find, and I would study them and I’d listen to their records.”
After moving to Fort Wayne, Surack soaked in all the musical knowledge he could while attending Wayne High School.
“I did a lot of summer school work, not for remedial purposes, but because I just like to learn,” he said. “I took sociology, government, and all those required courses in the summer, which gave me more time during the day to take not just band, but also jazz band, choir, orchestra, swing choir, and all those sorts of things. By my senior year, I had all my requirements done. So I just cruised my senior year doing music stuff.”
Going into business
Following high school, Surack dabbled in a professional career as a musician, touring for years with a band as a saxophone player and keyboardist.
After returning to Fort Wayne in 1979, Surack got in tune with his technological and entrepreneurial spirit, which began as a 10-year-old paper boy, and created a 4-track recording studio in his Volkswagen minibus. The idea was to record an artist and help them make great music.
Surack created a permanent recording studio, Sweetwater Sound, in his home in 1981, where he would record for local and national artists and businesses.
However, in 1985, things really revved up when he created his own library for the Kurzweil K250 synthesizer.
The Kurzweil K250 was a departure from the era’s music technology scene, where instead of using computer-based systems that required a lot of typing, you could turn on your K250 and being playing. The 95-pound behemoth had 88-note keyboard, 341 presets of 96 ROM-based instruments.
In a moment of creative and entrepreneurial genius, Surack created his own sound library with the K250 and began selling those sounds to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, and Dolly Parton. On top of working with those artists, Sweetwater Sound became an exclusive Kurzweil retailer … and, well, the rest is history.
While working with the likes of Parton, Rogers, and Wonder, Surack got the idea to expand Sweetwater Sound as a retailer that musicians could turn to for knowledgeable advice and recommendations.
A little over 40 years later, Sweetwater Sound was topping $1 billion in revenue, and Surack was shifting his focus to other endeavors as he and Lisa sold their majority stake in 2021 to focus on their Surack Family Foundation and Surack Enterprises, along with its “Sweet Family” of companies.
Upgrading downtown
In addition to managing their fleet of companies, Surack Enterprises is establishing a strong downtown presence. This includes The Pearl, which opened in fall 2024. The multi-use building features apartments, event space, and restaurants such as Amoré, Crescendo Coffee & Café, and Ducky’s. Across the street in The Pearl District, Pearl Street Arts Center, the headquarters for Pearl Arts, also opened. Having already set up a music academy at Sweetwater Sound with Sweetwater Academy, Surack’s vision for Pearl Arts was a downtown location that could serve lower-income families, with many eligible for scholarships.
On top of individual lessons, there’s also a performance space at Pearl Street Arts Center, along with workshops, camps, and masterclasses with the likes of Grammy- and Tony-winning artists like Heather Headley.
The space also houses the Pearl Arts Innovation Institution, a collaboration with Fort Wayne Community Schools’ Amp Lab that empowers “youth through music innovation and entrepreneurship.”
“I know what music can do for people,” Surack said. “Whether they become professional or not is immaterial. There are a lot of studies that show that learning to play an instrument helps you with furthering your education, whether that’s math — music is based around math. It also helps you in social settings. It helps you be a better listener. It helps you appreciate the arts.
“Fort Wayne Community Schools was good to me. I was a product of the school system, and I wanted to make sure all kids had access to music and private lessons.”
And it’s the often-overlooked kids that he wants to open a new world to.
“I wanted to inspire the kids and parents that come in there,” he said. “We started by going into Fort Wayne Community Schools, which is the largest school district in the state of Indiana, and probably one of the most impoverished. Some of those kids in southeast Fort Wayne, and all of Fort Wayne, had never been out of their neighborhood, didn’t even know this was possible.
“That was what I really wanted to get across, that anything is possible for them.”
Former Scottish Rite, new grocery
With The Pearl and Pearl Street Arts Center off and running, the renovation of the former Scottish Rite is now underway, though the recently announced Pearl Street Market, a downtown grocery store, will likely be up and running first.
The former Scottish Rite at 431 W. Berry St. was acquired in the summer of 2024 after serving as the University of Saint Francis’ Robert Goldstine Performing Arts Center. Slated to open in 2028, the renovated space, which will uphold its historic elements, will feature wider seats to accommodate 1700-1800 attendees, along with accessible seating. The restrooms will also be fully accessible, with an elevator, making the stage level more accessible.
“Scottish Rite will be for touring acts, bigger acts coming to town, but there will be some local things that play there,” Surack said.
While that center is big news, it may not be as big as Pearl Street Market.
People have been clamoring for a grocery store in downtown Fort Wayne. By spring of 2027, they just may be shopping the aisles of the market coming to the space just west of Pearl Street Arts Center.
“For years people have been asking about it,” Surack said. “With the apartments we built (at The Pearl) and all the other apartments, there’s finally enough people downtown that I think will support it. It will be a full grocery store with a fresh meat market, bakery, delicatessen, and all the typical dry goods.”
Going on stage
Despite juggling so many responsibilities, Surack is surprisingly accessible and not hidden away at all. He’s a familiar sight at events around town … and you can see him on stage.
At least five times each month, the saxophone player is on stage at The Club Room at The Clyde Theatre with one of his bands — PrimeTime, Three Rivers Big Band, and The Sweetwater All Stars.
“It’s a good release from my day job,” he said of playing in the bands, which also grace stages at summer festivals, concert series, and private engagements. “I just love playing. I don’t care whether I’m playing on stage or in the corner of my house — for one person or a thousand people, I’ve played for 10,000 — I just love playing music.
“I don’t particularly enjoy singing, but I’m fine playing an instrument.
“Brett (Kelsey), Karin (Martin), and I have been playing in PrimeTime for over 20 years—actually more than 25, since my wife and I have been married for 25 years and she used to come watch me play before we got married. I’ve also played in big bands my entire life.”
“Probably the most fun right now is the R&B/soul band. We’re coming into our 11th year, The Sweetwater All Stars. I love playing with those guys. They’re all such great musicians and play a lot of fun music.”
In fact, if you’d like to see Surack and his bands perform at The Club Room this month, Three Rivers Big Band will be there Wednesday, March 11, followed by The Sweetwater All Stars on Saturday, March 14, PrimeTime on Tuesday, March 17, and The Sweetwater All Stars again Saturday, March 28.
‘It’s the right thing to do’
So, whether it’s building a billion-dollar company with the motto “Always do the right thing,” performing with his local bands, establishing needed companies downtown, or helping youth through his foundation, Surack has been a huge asset to the city of Fort Wayne.
“I do it because it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “We’ve been incredibly blessed. We can’t take it with us. You don’t see U-Hauls at cemeteries very often.
“All of us, every one of us, could be one incident or one accident away from being in a situation where you need some help. I feel a responsibility, and I like doing it. I want to do it and so does my wife.”
About Surack Enterprises
Founded by Chuck and Lisa Surack, the businesses of Surack Enterprises are a group of local companies that provide trusted services, products, and experiences to countless friends and families in and around Northeast Indiana & the Midwest. As we continue to grow, our mission stays the same — always do the right thing.
