D'Angelico's first shop was located at 40 Kenmare Street in New York City’s Little Italy. The shop was small, but perfect for a humble operation: D'Angelico instruments were strictly hand-made, and in very limited quantities. During the late 1930s, when production was at its peak, D'Angelico made approximately 35 instruments per year with the help of only two workers. The novelty of a D’Angelico became part of its mystique.