Meg Roussos / The BulletinJonathan Brosnan, 26, co-owner of Rogue Guitar Shop LLC.

Rogue Guitar Shop has made a new home in a rambling office and warehouse space on NE 18th Street in Bend, a far cry from its former home at 15 NW Greenwood Ave.

“Most of our inventory was in the basement; it was about 800 square feet down there, and for the last six months we’d been working with product up to our backs,” said Jonathan Brosnan, 26, who co-owns the company with his wife, Me’kelle Brosnan, 24.

Two weeks ago, the 2½-year-old company, which sells guitars, amplifiers and special-effects pedals online, moved into its new home at 62990 NE 18th St. The Brosnans, through a separate company, Redland Group LLC, paid $750,000 to buy the building from S.D.M. Investments LLC on Sept. 15, according to Deschutes County public records and Compass Commercial Real Estate, which brokered the sale.

The move made sense, and not only from space considerations, Jonathan Brosnan said.

“I’m confident that I can at least manage the payment for the building if anything ever happened. If I had to liquidate the inventory at cost, it would pay for the building,” he said.

Sales at the shop rose from $1.4 million in 2012 to $2.2 million last year, he said. Rogue’s strong suit is special-effects pedals, Brosnan said. The company sells products by more than 160 manufacturers worldwide, said Trey Anderson, business manager for Rogue Guitar Shop. Brosnan said Rogue keeps 8,000 to 10,000 pedals in stock, along with 30 guitars and 30 amplifiers.

“It’s crazy the amount of success he’s had,” said Compass Commercial broker Graham Dent, who worked the transaction with Peter May, also of Compass Commercial.

Brosnan attributed Rogue’s success to his aggressive style as much as the improving economy. Even before founding Rogue Guitar Shop, Brosnan leveraged his credit card to buy and sell electric guitars online, he said. He reinvested everything back into the business, except what he needed for his family, he said.

Rogue Guitar Shop occupies 3,500 square feet of the total 8,500 square-foot building. Two tenants, lawn care company TruGreen and Boyd Coffee Co., occupy two suites. Plus, Brosnan bought and moved an electric guitar maker, Taylor McGrath Guitars Inc., from Woodland Hills, California, to the building in Bend, he said. The brand, although struggling, is popular with musicians who work with artists like John Mayer, Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga, Brosnan said

“Right now, we’re trying to rebuild it, rebrand it, breathe some life into it,” Brosnan said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7815, jditzler@bendbulletin.com

Q: How do you explain the growth in sales over the past two years?

A: Jonathan Brosnan: We were really aggressive about expansion. … I would open up to new manufacturers to broaden my net to capture more clients and more sales. Rather than carrying a lot of one item, I’d carry a great variety of items. … I grow by capturing all their clientele. People that follow that brand end up following me because I carry it.

Q: How important is social media at Rogue Guitar Shop?

A: Trey Anderson: We have 18,000 followers on Instagram. … It’s essential. … We can market to 18,000 people three times a day without paying for it.