Bob Aycock

Preserving Stories. Building Brands. Creating Connections.

I'm Bob Aycock, a storyteller, digital strategist, entrepreneur, and local history advocate based in Matthews, North Carolina.

Much of what I do comes back to the same idea: stories matter. Whether I'm helping preserve the history of my hometown, building a brand, creating an experience around books and coffee, or wandering through an old cemetery reading the names carved into weathered stones, I'm fascinated by the people, places, and stories that connect us.

I serve as Director of the Matthews Heritage Museum and Vice President of the Matthews Historical Foundation, where I work to preserve and share the history of a community I've called home for most of my life. My work includes exhibits, historic tours, community programs, cemetery preservation, research, storytelling, and finding new ways to make local history accessible and meaningful.

Before stepping into the museum world, I built a career in digital marketing and communications. For more than 15 years, I've worked with businesses, nonprofits, and organizations on digital strategy, social media, websites, content, branding, and project management. That experience continues to shape the way I approach everything I do, especially the challenge of connecting people with stories worth discovering.

I'm also an entrepreneur. I'm the founder of Crooner Coffee, a specialty coffee brand inspired by the music, style, and timeless charm of another era. My wife, Jen, is the owner of Sip on Stories, an independent bookstore built around good books, community, and the simple pleasure of slowing down to read. I get to support what she’s built through website and design, along with plenty of coffee-fueled collaboration along the way.

Away from work, I'm usually reading, researching local history, exploring cemeteries and historic places, tending a garden or beehive, listening to old music, drinking entirely too much coffee, or planning something for Halloween or Christmas.

Most importantly, I'm a husband and father of four.

My interests may seem to wander from digital marketing to museums, books, coffee, cemeteries, gardening, and old songs, but I've realized they aren't really that different.

They're all about discovering something worth remembering, and finding a way to share it.