NORTHFIELD — “My wife and I are going to ride more and ride on adventures and local rides and everything else,” Mitch Rovins, owner of Beacon Bicycles, said Thursday at the shop on Tilton Road in Northfield.
Rovins, 65, has put in a lot of hours while operating the bicycle shop for the past 45 years — mostly seven days a week with the usual four-month crush in the summer — and has had too little time to ride.
“I’m going to call it quits, after two of the best years we ever had,” he said, noting despite inventory struggles sales were fantastic in 2020 and 2021.
“We would rather go out on top than go out under duress,” he said, taking time to wait on a customer amid the retirement sale that started last week. “People ask why I’m closing, if there is a problem. The problem is, I don’t ride my bike enough. My wife and I ride every day; now we are going to ride more every day.”
Rovins and his wife, Susanna, live in Linwood, where they raised two daughters and a son — Anna, 28, Emme, 24, and Sacha, 20, all graduates of Mainland Regional High School.
Rovins said his grandfather started the business in 1930 in Bridgeton, then opened at shop at Harbor Village Square in Egg Harbor Township when Resorts got its gaming license in the late 1970s. His brother opened a Beacon in Absecon in 1980 and, in 1982, they decided to combine into one centrally located shop, down Tilton Road where Artistic Hardware is currently located.
Two years later, they bought the land and built the current building, which is 17,000 square feet and contains several automotive bays where they installed car stereos, sun roofs and other items when they had an automotive division. That space has been used solely for storage for years.
Rovins said the shop is nearly three times the size of a normal brick-and-mortar store, offering 10,000 square feet of display space. It was clear that the site likely would not continue as a bike shop, so Rovins started looking at other options.
Late last year, the Northfield Planning Board approved an application by Harry and Doug Moppert, of Moppert Brothers Auto Collision Specialists based in Warminster, Pa., to operate a repair shop, clearing the way for the sale. The property, which is irregularly shaped, already is fully paved and striped for numerous parking spots and the exterior of the building would change very minimally.
“We had the opportunity to sell. The building was too large for a bike shop,” Rovins said, noting they considered downsizing and opening a new location but ultimately decided to retire.
But the couple is not yet ready to ride off into the sunset. The have “hundreds of bikes in the store and they’re all on sale,” Rovins said. “I have kids bikes, BMX bikes, mountain bikes, cruisers, hybrid bikes, electric bikes — for the time being. A month from now, maybe not.”
Rovins said it is undetermined how long he will stay open.
“Right now it’s about clearance,” he said, noting the retirement sale started Jan. 11 and includes 15 percent to 75 percent off everything in the store.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Other bicycle shops remain in Ocean City, Tuckahoe, beyond
The bicycle shop’s closing will leave a tremendous gap in southern New Jersey where quality products cannot be found, with most of the remaining shops on the barrier islands catering to tourists.
Freedom City Bike Club at 29 W. Delilah Road in Pleasantville sells mostly refurbished bicycle and vintage models but does have new cruisers in stock.
Other local shops include Tuckahoe Bike Shop — with locations in Ocean City, Tuckahoe, Sea Isle City and Avalon — Ocean City Bicycle Center, 34th Street Bikes in Ocean City, Beach Bike Warehouse in Ocean City, All About Bikes in Brigantine, Margate Bike Shop, AAAA Bike Shop in Ventnor, Cycles of Life in Atlantic City, Pro Pedals in Hammonton and Mojo Bicycle Shop in Vineland.
“I think someone is going to fill the void,” Rovins said, mentioning Trek.
“The most aggressive company putting up brick-and-mortar stories in the country is Trek — they’re going crazy,” he said, noting if his place were smaller he may have been able to sell to the company.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
This was a GREAT place, with excellent customer service and quality products. We purchased bicycles for three generations of our family here at Beacons and all were (and still are) quality products. My wife and I are going to miss Beacons. We wish to thank Mr. and Mrs. Rovins for creating such a wonderful business and we wish them both a well earned and happy retirement.