For more than 30 years Charles (Chuck) Fridrich has been walking through the doors of his family business, but not because he planned it.
“I had the keys dumped in the palm of my hand and told I had to run the place,” said Fridrich.
He’s the third-generation owner of Fridrich Bicycle, succeeding his father after he died in 1992.
The business has been an Ohio City staple for 141 years, but this summer will be its last.
“I'm not sad, but a little forlorn because I didn't want to be the last Fridrich to put the key in the door the last time,” Fridrich said.
He says his age is one reason, keeping good help is another, but lingering effects from the pandemic also play a part.
“It got crazy, crazy busy in here, everybody was buying everything in sight,” Fridrich said. “But of course, after that happened, which was, my best recollection, maybe 2 or 3 months, then we had nothing on the floor and we couldn't get any product. It was all stuck out on the Pacific Ocean in some barge somewhere.”
More than four years after the start of the pandemic, he said many bike shops have an excess of inventory that they purchased at a higher price than they’re able to sell, which doesn’t leave much profit.
“Everybody raised their prices,” Fridrich said. “We held on to some of the bikes or it didn't bother if we sold them or not because it would have been a break-even situation. So yeah, the pandemic had an effect. Like I said, we never quite recovered from it.”
He said service and repairs have been a large part of what has kept them afloat.
Fridrich isn’t alone. Other bike shops around the state are closing for many reasons. Roll Cycle in Columbus and Fleet Bike Shop in Cleveland closed this year but others, like Bishop Bicycles in Milford, are finding ways to survive.
“It’s intimidating, but I’m, I’m thrilled that we’re still here, and we feel healthy,” said Stuart Hellebusch, the owner of Bishop’s Bicycles. “I think we’re doing something right to be here. I’ve got a, I’ve got a really good staff. I count on them heavily. We’re in a great location. We have great customers.”
Stuart Hellebusch took over the shop in 2020. He said another challenge bike shops are facing is that so many more people only shop online now, even for bicycles.
“There’s a lot of direct-to-consumer,” Hellebusch said. “So customers bypass brick-and-mortar businesses and just go directly online. You know, we see a lot of very poor quality bikes coming in from that, to the point where we turn many of them away for service just because we couldn’t make them safe for the customer, and perform at the level that it should perform at.”
He believes in supporting local bike shops and wants customers to help these businesses thrive and continue their legacy.
“Just stop in your local bike shop. Don’t just go straight to the computer and order something. You’re going to learn a lot just coming in and having a conversation and hopefully, you learn enough that you will want to purchase from us or your local bike shop,” Hellebusch said. “My daughter is six. I hope she at least is able to work here, and she has a three-year-old sister who will hopefully be able to work here as well.”
As for Fridrich, it’s too late, his family dynasty has come to an end. He said there have been hundreds of people coming to his business, letting him know what his family’s legacy is. People have been reminiscing with him and sharing stories of when their parents bought them a bicycle from Fridrich’s more than 60 years ago.
“Without customers, you can’t operate a business and they just kept coming and kept coming. Just overwhelming graciousness. You could see it in their eyes. You could see it in their handshake. You could see it in the women who came to me and hugged me right here in the middle of the store. And it was just overwhelming. I’ll tell you,” Fridrich said. “That’s what makes me feel good, because I know that at the end of the day, we did the absolute best job we could do for the public.”
For one last summer, an “open” for business sign will hang. But soon it will become a memento of the friends made and memories gained.
“I smile every time one of them comes in the door,” Fridrich said. “I smile when I pick up the phone because there’s another chance to make a friend.”
Fridrich told Spectrum News he’s in talks with three potential buyers for his property, each with different ideas for the building. The hope, he said, is that the buyer keeps a bike shop in the building.