Well, the cat's finally out of the bag: The folks who own North Central Cyclery, the shop in which I work, recently acquired another bike shop. It's called Freeport Bicycle Company.
The town of Freeport is a bit weird. It seems almost as though time just ceased to continue somewhere in the early 1990's, and the people there continue to happily live their lives. It's full of antique shops, abandoned buildings, and storefronts with vintage signage and decorative facades. I've come to affectionately call this phenomena "The Freeport Effect". This is, of course, just a first impression.
In the heart of this strange place is actually a really cool bike shop, housed inside of a beautifully restored old building that holds a lot of history: In the late 1800's, Freeport Bicycle Company was actually manufacturing their own bicycles... In 1889 Daniel Stover and William Hance invented the "safety brake" in Freeport, which later came to be known as the coaster brake. Stover was also manufacturing bicycles for his own company out of Freeport, and one of them, The Phoenix, now hangs from the ceiling above the front door of the shop.
The shop has been doing well, but we see a lot of potential for improvement, and we've got big ideas. For now, take a look at some photos I snapped while I was out there helping out and getting to know the place last week:
More photos below:
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