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Popular bike and board shop is closing after 20 years

Chris Stewart gave up bike racing when he was 27 and 20 years later he’s finally slowing down.

Bits, Bikes and Boards has built a reputation for being one of the premier shops in the area for bikes, skateboards, snowboards and related gear and merchandise but owner Chris Stewart said the price of success was getting too steep.

“Sadly, to be a successful business owner these days you have to be open seven days a week,” said Stewart. “It is ultimately about sacrificing your family for business and that is one thing I am not willing to do anymore.”

They are closing for business March 26 and will vacate the building March 31, two days short of their 20th anniversary.

“We were originally going to open April 1st and my brother said you can’t open on April Fool’s Day so we opened a day later on April 2, 1997,” said Stewart.

News of the store’s closure has surprised many of their loyal customers and some even believed it was an April Fool’s joke.

“Nobody believes it,” said Stewart. “I have so many clients and even my suppliers are having the hardest time believing that we’re leaving.”

It wasn’t an easy decision for Stewart, his wife and business partner Stephanie or their 10-year-old son Wren.

“It is, sadly, quite tough because it has been such a big part of our lives,” said Stewart. “I still have a passion for it and that makes it tougher but I would rather leave now before I become a disgruntled owner with no desire to be here.”

Stewart opened the first shop on Baker Street after retiring from a successful nine-year career racing mountain bikes. He started off selling bicycles and doing bike tune-ups then introduced snowboards.

“I think I sold five snowboards that year to friends of mine,” he said. “Nobody had really done it at that point.”

For the first six months he worked two jobs rolling all profits back into the shop.

“I worked at Purolator loading trucks from 2:30 to 8:30 in the morning,” he said. “I would go from there, have something to eat and go to my regular job running the store from 10am to 6pm six days a week.”

His expertise as a racer along with his knowledge of skater and surf culture gave him an edge over his competition and allowed him to stay ahead of the trends.

After two years they moved to a larger location at 17 Gordon St and six years ago they bought the building at the corner of Norfolk and Cork Streets. They operated out of both locations for a couple years before closing the Gordon Street store and moving everything to the new location.

The closure will be a big change for Wren who has never known a life without the shop.

“We took Wren to all the different surf shows,” said Stewart. “He started snowboarding at three and has been out with some of our better Canadian teams.”

Wren said he will miss the shop but his dad will miss it the most.

“He is nervous about it,” said Wren. “I am looking forward to spending time with him. We can play basketball everyday with each other. He can’t shoot well and it looks really bad. My grandpa is even better.”

Stewart admits he is nervous but looks forward to the change of pace.

“I want to make sure I give being a proper dad a shot,” he said. “I want to be available for Wren and then I’ll figure out what I am going to do next. I have to get myself a job, which I am really excited about because there’s that element of the unknown that really gets my competitive juices going.”


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Troy Bridgeman

About the Author: Troy Bridgeman

Troy Bridgeman is a multi-media journalist that has lived and worked in the Guelph community his whole life. He has covered news and events in the city for more than two decades.
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