Last week, we had a family knock on Grado’s door near the end of the day. The family of four had come to Brooklyn with the sole purpose of coming to say hi. We don’t give public tours, but whenever something like this happens we’re happy to show them around if things aren’t too hectic. We invited the family in and noticed an accent. Asking where they are visiting from, they answered “France”. France. As in overseas, different country, no where near Brooklyn, France.
“This is the Brooklyn headphone company I grew up dreaming of visiting”
We’ve had people visit from other countries over the past 63 years, that we’re used to (although each time it’s heart-warming). What was new this time was that the father treated this as almost like a history lesson for his two young daughters, telling them “This is the Brooklyn headphone company I grew up dreaming of visiting”. To us this building, this company, this job, it’s all normal. My dad literally grew up here and so did I. Day in and day out we’re used to this. Seeing this father be proud that his family was with him for this visit is what made this one of the most unique visits we’ve ever had.
We made sure to give some stickers to the daughters, take a photo with the family, and recommend some places to eat near their rental in Carroll Gardens. We’d share his first name instead of just calling him “The Father” like it’s some indie film and the group photo too, but honestly we’re waiting to hear back to see if he’s okay with that.
Though we don’t have public tours, we couldn’t have had a nicer surprise on a Wednesday afternoon. Most importantly though, I hope they got to eat some pizza before they left.
