The former CEO of Allied Mechanical Systems is forging a new career in vintage audio visual equipment with the opening of a retail and repair store in late May. 

Steve Huizenga

After more than 30 years in the construction trades, Steve Huizenga is turning over a new leaf with Bring Back Analog in which he’s leaning into his longtime hobby of repairing and selling audio equipment. 

Located at 2240 28th St. SE, Bring Back Analog opened on May 29, selling new, refurbished and vintage boomboxes, VHS players, amplifiers, LaserDisc players, turntables, speakers and cassette decks. 

The 3,200-square-foot store includes a sales showroom and space for Huizenga to diagnose and repair equipment. Bring Back Analog also sells vinyl albums.

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Bring Back Analog is Huizenga’s first foray into retail operations after more than 30 years in the trades, including 28 years with mechanical contractor Allied Mechanical Services Inc., where he served as the company’s third-generation president. 

Huizenga also helped establish Byron Center-based commercial general contractor Freedom Construction and Consulting Inc., where he served as president for two years before leaving the company in August. 

“I kind of fell into the normal day to day again. I’m like, ‘No, I don’t like this,’” Huizenga said of his decision to leave the company. 

Inside Bring Back Analog. Credit: Courtesy photo

Huizenga retained ownership stakes in both Freedom Construction and Allied Mechanical. 

After leaving his career in construction, Huizenga felt drawn back to one of his early hobbies of repairing audio equipment. 

“I’ve been repairing it technically since fifth or sixth grade. People were dropping pieces of equipment off at my parent’s house and I was fixing early computers,” he said. 

Huizenga decided to revisit the hobby full-time and turn it into a business, signing a lease for the 28th Street space in February and spending the next few months renovating the former employment agency office into a storefront. 

With his background in the trades, Huizenga was able to renovate the retail space himself, including installing new lighting, rewiring and painting. 

Bring Back Analog opened on May 29 at 2240 28th St. SE in Grand Rapids. Credit: Courtesy photo

In the coming months, he’s also planning to finish building out a soundproof listening room for customers to test high-end equipment before they purchase it.

Huizenga hopes to create a space where customers, especially those unfamiliar with older audio equipment, can feel comfortable exploring.

“The whole store looks like the ’80s puked in it, and that’s what I wanted,” Huizenga said. “Every stereo store I went into growing up was … just fancy, fancy, fancy, and you were scared to touch anything. I wanted this store to feel like you walked into your basement. I want people to touch stuff.”

So far, more than half of Bring Back Analog’s customers are people under the age of 30 who are either looking for vinyl or are curious about the older equipment. 

“I started to ask them, ‘Well, why?’ They say, ‘Well, I don’t know. We just see the stereo stuff, and we’ve never experienced it,’” Huizenga said. “Most people under the age of 30 grew up with Bluetooth speakers and always having to use your phone for this or that.” 

The showroom at Bring Back Analog. Credit: Courtesy photo

According to the Recording Industry Association of America, physical media, such as CDs and records, continued their comeback last year. In 2024, physical music revenues in the U.S. were $2 billion, a 5% increase over 2023. 

A total of 43.6 million vinyl records and LPs sold in the U.S. last year, representing 19.8% of total recorded music sales last year and the 18th consecutive year of growth in record sales. CDs represented 15% of total recorded music sales in 2024, the highest percentage of sales for that category since 2009. 

In addition to selling turntables, CD players and old-school speakers, Bring Back Analog also sells new equipment, serving as a registered dealer for national brands like Juke Audio, Epson and JVC. 

Huizenga hopes his concept will provide a space for audiophiles and newcomers to discover new ways to listen to music. 

“I love seeing people’s eyes light up when you turn the volume up, or they hear their favorite song in a new way on speakers and hear detail they’ve never heard before,” he said. “I just love it.”

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