Oldest bicycle shop in Jacksonville celebrates building’s anniversary

Posted on March 4, 2019 By Editor Articles, Neighborhood News

Cathy and Charlie Fetzer, Mark Fetzer

While some companies celebrate milestone anniversaries of their founding, the Fetzer brothers, Charlie and Mark, will throw a 50th birthday bash March 22 for the building that has been home to a much older company, LakeShore Bicycles.

According to Charlie Fetzer, the company has been around since the 1930s, although under different names, and under ownership by three, maybe four families. It was originally established in Riverside as King Street Bicycles, a Western Flyer dealership, by a Mr. Thorton. When his son decided to share the bicycle shop space with his camera business, Thorton moved the bike shop to Timothy Lane, a one-block street connecting Lake Shore Boulevard and Blanding Boulevard. The shop was sandwiched between Gladwell’s Florist and the Lake Shore Theatre, which is no longer there.

Thorton sold the Lake Shore Bicycle & Hobby Shop in 1961 to Scott Robertson who, upon becoming a Schwinn dealer in 1969, renamed the shop LakeShore Schwinn around the time he built a new store at 2108 Blanding Boulevard.

A newspaper ad in the 1950s when the bike shop was on Timothy Lane in Lakeshore.

Robertson subsequently sold the company in 1980 to Norman Fetzer, a retired U.S. Naval Aviator from New York. Fetzer’s sons joined him to sell bicycles to riders all over Northeast Florida, then inherited the bike shop from their father in 2005. In 2011 the Schwinn company dissolved the dealership and LakeShore Bicycles became a Trek dealer.

“We are proud to be the oldest bike shop in Jacksonville and we don’t take this achievement lightly,” notes the website. “While others have come and gone, Lakeshore has thrived because of our love for cycling and our belief in customer service, community outreach, and providing you the best products at the best prices.”

To celebrate the anniversary of the oldest bike shop’s headquarters, the Fetzers will hold a Duval Day event from 9:04 a.m. to 9:04 p.m., Friday, March 22. There will be food and drinks, awards presented, bike fittings, bike rentals, discounts on parts and repairs, as well as accessories and apparel. For the cycling crowd, a 28-mile ride will be held on the new, remapped Emerald Necklace.