Sad to see them go

dead-signAnother local business died. After 31 years, Arapahoe Cyclery closed their doors. Mike and Greg were amazing mechanics, nice guys, and a pleasure to do business with.

What’s sad is that I didn’t get the opportunity to say goodbye. Since we’re in the depths of snowy weather, I hadn’t been through their doors in a few months. I’m hoping I’ll run into one of them at some point, so I can share my pain at the loss.

Rather than go into a long rant about why it’s good to give business to your local independent shops, I’ll just ask you to try to do that when you can.

By the way, the sign is from the same plaza the bike shop was in. It was for an auto parts store that closed down within the last year. My hopes aren’t too high for the new fitness center that recently opened.

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4 Replies to “Sad to see them go”

  1. I find it’s kind of a Catch 22. I really would prefer to buy most things locally, so I can see them, feel them, smell or taste them or whatever. But often I can’t find what I want locally, either because there simply is no shop, or the local shop doesn’t have the selection or price. In the old days, we would have made do with what we could find, but the Internet has spoiled us into expecting to get exactly what we want, even if it has to be shipped from across the country. So the local guys suffer.

    One way some of them survive is to do business on the Internet as well as locally, like the used book shop in downtown Pomona. I don’t know if this would have worked for your bike guys, and you actually don’t know for sure why they closed, do you? Possibly they just wanted to retire after 31 years. But I agree that if we want business to survive, we have to frequent local shops whenever possible. (I guess I went into the long rant for you!)

    1. I agree, Deb. Sometimes it’s much easier, faster and cheaper to buy stuff through Amazon than locally. My rule is to do what makes sense for the situation. If we only bought locally, we’d go broke.

      For Mike, I heard from a friend who saw him as the shop was closing that he was relieved. He had not been running the shop for 31 years – I assume he bought it or took it over from a friend or relative.

      The full story is that an Ace Hardware store was right next door, as well as a Joann Fabrics store. Both left, and fewer people would see them or drop in after they visited the other stores. Two winters of slim business killed the shop.

  2. Ironically, as I was walking up to the shop to see the closure sign, my phone was playing the Byrds song, “Turn Turn Turn.”

    “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

    That’s originally from Ecclesiastes, chapter 3.

  3. Can’t believe they’re leaving. I have so many great memories from that place and will miss the guy with to goatee beard and the rimmed spectacles.

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