Piece by piece over the last half century, Tammy Colston has built her business at the Raleigh Market.

“We were in a blue school bus when we started here,” Colston said. “We moved to a semitruck and then moved to the other building, over off of Restaurant Row.”

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Her shop, Kidd’s Frames, has been inside the Education and Commercial Buildings ever since Restaurant Row was torn down. Now she’s facing a new disruption.

“Financially, it’s going to hit us pretty hard,” she said.

Like roughly 70 other businesses, Colston will have to leave her Raleigh location until spring, as the Raleigh Market plans to close its doors for the State Fair, then keep them closed for the next seven months for much-needed roof repairs.

“It really is like whack-a-mole,” said Raleigh Market’s Kimberly Benou. “They’ll fix one [leak] and another will pop up later.”

Benou says she knows this is a pain for businesses, but one she believes will be worth it to fix the leaks.

“We are remaining optimistic,” she said.

Several business owners, including Dan Savage of jerky store TUKLIFE, acknowledged the need for a new roof, and said they were given several months’ notice.

“This 110-year-old building is definitely in need of a new roof,” said Savage. “We’re going to do some online sales [and] try to build our business, come up with some different ideas.”

Other vendors, like Brian Korynta, argue the shops should have been provided with an alternative space to operate from during the closure.

“I hate to think of what’s going to happen to some people,” Korynta said.

Back at Kidd’s Frames, Tammy Colston plans to dip into her savings to make it through, and will be waiting anxiously for the green light to open again.

“We are praying a solution will be made to help us stay here,” Colston said.

A week before Christmas, Logan’s Garden Shop is filled with Raleigh locals taking advantage of last-minute sales on evergreen wreaths, vivid red poinsettias, and carefully crafted ornaments. It’s a warm oasis on a chilly winter day, as neighbors exchange greetings, ask after the kids and pets, and sip hot chocolate.

Although Logan’s won’t be emptied of its thousands of plants, trees, and flowers until late February, some longtime customers are already reminiscing about the good old days at Seaboard Station.

“The little café was my favorite place to come when I was working downtown, because you could relax with a nice lunch and you were surrounded by all these beautiful flowers and plants,” says longtime Raleigh resident Linda Povlich, now retired. “That was always real special.”

Like many local businesses, Logan’s is feeling the impact of new construction and growth, which came to its aging historic neighborhood in 2022. Many upscale businesses have opened around Seaboard Station since the garden shop first moved into the old train station in 1991, but two years ago, Hoffman and Associates began a major redevelopment project to finish the transformation of the once-derelict district into a “downtown destination.”

Credit: Photo by Angelica Edwards

Since 2022, developers have built three new apartment buildings and a hotel with a rooftop bar in the area, catering to residents who want to live upstairs from the dessert shop selling gluten-free macarons and the fancy new fitness center open seven days a week. Once Logan’s moves out, construction is slated to start on two more apartment towers up to 20 stories tall.

When it became clear that Logan’s long-term future was in jeopardy, third-generation co-owner Joshua Logan chose to sell his family’s nearly three-acre property and look for opportunities elsewhere rather than fight what would likely be a losing commercial battle. Although it was nerve-wracking facing such uncertainty, Joshua’s faith that “everything happens for a reason” paid off, he says.

In 2023, more than a year after Logan’s started looking for a new home, Joshua got word that there was an opening at the State Farmers Market—in a circular building behind the Farmers Market Restaurant that most recently housed another garden center, Market Imports.

“It was not by design … [but] we are returning to our roots with this move,” Joshua says, explaining that Logan’s first opened at the original Farmers Market on Hodges Street in 1965.

“My grandfather actually worked that deal out the way deals used to be done, by a handshake with Jim Graham,” he adds. “Logan’s was the first-ever permanent, year-round vendor at the Farmers Market.”

Now, 60 years later, Logan’s relocation to the new Farmers Market is the start of a new chapter for the legacy business. In the past year, the garden shop has opened two new branches, in Fuquay-Varina and Knightdale. And, just across the street from dozens of stalls selling fresh produce, Logan’s new Raleigh location will be a seamless addition to the landscape—likely to become an essential stop for the thousands of people who visit every week.

“People kind of make a weekend project out of a visit to the garden center,” Joshua says. “She’s got a garden project, and he’s got a home improvement project. We want to provide a destination where people can visit as a household and check everything off their list.”

Credit: Photo by Angelica Edwards

As a part of that effort, Joshua is adding basic hardware and around-the-house tools to the garden shop’s inventory. The equipment will surely be a welcome addition for couples and families who already prioritize a visit to the garden shop every Saturday, like longtime customer Eleanor Babb and her husband, Ken.

Where Eleanor is the gardener of the family—buying bedding plants in the spring, vegetables in the summer, and bulbs in the fall—Ken is the “laborer,” he interjects with a chuckle. Both are happy the doors of Logan’s Garden Shop will stay open, even in a new location.

With renovations and improvements ongoing, the garden shop’s shiny new building is expected to welcome its first customers at the beginning of March, although there’s not a set date because construction could be subject to weather delays, says Joshua. The big move-out process is set to start after Valentine’s Day, he adds.

Although uncertainty has loomed over the business in the past few years, the year ahead is looking as bright and hopeful as the first blooms of spring.

“Change is a part of life,” Joshua says. “As a plant person, if you observe nature, if you observe living things, they adapt. We feel like businesses are much the same. It all comes down to a choice. Do you resist change and wither, or do you accept change [and grow]?”

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Mark Conti

The first shakeup in the Worcester bicycle retail market occurred in late spring.

Before the summer was over, another shop announced it was closing. And a month later, a second new bike store said it was entering the scene.

The bike shop tremors began when Landry’s Bicycles, which operates seven stores in Massachusetts, opened a 7,000-square-foot shop at 20 Jolma Road off Grafton Street. Then the owner of Bicycle Alley announced he was retiring and closing the shop that had been selling bikes at Webster Square for 32 years, after attempts to sell the store were not successful.

The latest market change occurred this month when Bikes and Life, a growing bicycle retail company with stores sprouting up around the country, signed a five-year lease for Bicycle Alley’s 10,000-square-foot retail space and said it would open the store on Nov. 1, the day after Bicycle Alley closes.

The tumult leaves four bike shops in Worcester. In addition to the two new arrivals, the city has Fritz’s Bicycle Shop at 328 West Boylston St., and Barney’s Bicycle at 582 Park Ave. Barney’s is the city’s oldest shop at nearly 40 years. Fritz’s Bicycle Shop has been around for about 32 years.

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“More shops are always better for the cycling community. If we can support them it means we have a growing cycling community,” said Aaron Price, owner of Fritz’s Bicycle Shop.

Price said Bikes and Life may be the newest shop, but the real dynamic change is Landry’s. The city has had the three shops — Fritz’s, Barney’s and Bicycle Alley — for years, he said. Now, Bikes and Life will replace Bicycle Alley at the same location and with the same employees. But Landry’s entry into the Worcester market has a bigger impact.

“It will be interesting to see if there is room,” Price said. “I hope this is a sign the Worcester cycling community is growing. I would think a company like Landry’s would do their due diligence before opening the store.”

James Ray, manager of Landry’s Bicycles’ Worcester store, said Landry’s came into Worcester because the company believed the city was underserved. Bikes and Life, he said, must see an opportunity as well.

“I’m sure there is enough room for everybody,” Ray said. “Worcester is a market we researched and really wanted to be in. I think all the shops can boost cycling ridership. With another company coming in, it means that Worcester is a strong market.”

John Antretta, founder and co-owner of Bikes and Life, said he, too, thinks there “absolutely” is room for all four shops in Worcester.

“Cycling is growing,” Antretter said. “There are more people cycling than ever. Ridership is going north, more adults are riding. People are doing more things for fitness. All signs are positive.”

Antretter said he did not do a lot of research on the market, he saw an opportunity and decided to seize it.

“Bicycle Alley was a successful retailer for 30 years,” Antretter said. “We believe we can take the best of what Bicycle Alley offered and make it better. We retained the entire staff.”

But Bikes and Life’s entry into the market, and their rights to sell Giant bikes specifically, has had a big impact on Barney’s.

Barney’s Bicycle has been selling Giant bicycles for 15 years but lost the brand with the entry of Bikes and Life.

“They stripped the dealership away from us. We’re very disappointed about it,” said Peter Howard, owner of Barney’s Bicycle, pointing out that Trek was taken from him years ago by Bicycle Alley.

“We intend to bring in another brand name to fill the void of Giant,” Howard said.

Barney’s, which also sells Fuji, Raleigh and Diamondback, will continue to sell Giant for six months.

Howard’s father, Barney, started Shrewsbury Cycle in Shrewsbury in 1974, then moved to Park Avenue in Worcester in 1976 and changed the name to Barney’s. The store moved to 165 Chandler St. in 1988, and then opened a new location on Park Avenue in 2012.

Barney’s runs a second shop at the Chandler Street location known as Chandler Bike. The Chandler store sells more affordable models and used bikes, Howard said.

“It’s a great neighborhood bike shop. We have a lot of vintage bicycle stuff in the shop,” he said. “That fills a niche in the city. That’s worked out pretty well now for about four years. It’s been a pretty successful little place with flavor. The shop has character.”

Fritz’s Bicycle Shop — which sells Scott, Salsa, Raleigh and Bianchi bicycles as well as smaller brands such as Surly, Haro, Biria and Fairdale — also sells used bikes.

“I think the used market is a very important part of a city bike shop these days,” Price said.

Howard said he thinks each of the four shops in Worcester has its own niche.

“I think Landry’s is going to bang heads with the new shop, battling for the higher-end clients. People on a budget have found us to be their shop. Going head-to-head with Landry’s, I don’t think we can do that,” Howard said.

Price said Fritz’s is a service-oriented shop, installing specific parts and customizing bikes for customers. The shop tries to provide personal service.

“I feel as though we have a different feel in our shop, a different vibe. If I tried to compete with Landry’s at their game I couldn’t do it. So I try to do something different,” Price said. “We’re smaller. There is a good chance you’re going to walk into Fritz’s and deal with me, the owner.”

“Our goal is to try to be realistically open to anybody. We try to get them on a bicycle they like, whether it’s a $300 bike or a $3,000 bike,” said Price, who bought the shop from Fred “Fritz” Maiser, who founded and owned the shop for almost 30 years.

Landry’s Bicycles sells Specialized, Trek, Parlee, Seven, Haro and Pure Fix bicycles.

The Worcester shop is the third Landry’s Bicycles store to open in about the past year. The company — which was founded in 1922 — currently operates in Westboro, Boston, Braintree, Newton, Norwood and Natick, which is the company headquarters and warehouse as well as a store. The store was named National Bicycle Retailer of the Year at Interbike, the bicycling industry’s annual trade event, last month in Las Vegas.

“It’s been going great. This year has been better than we expected,” Ray said.

Meanwhile, Bikes and Life is looking forward to opening in the city and jumping into the space formerly held by Bicycle Alley at 1067 Main St.

“The amount of feedback we’ve had is stunning, it’s heartwarming. I’ve been saying to my associates you can take it to the bank that we’re going to be successful in Worcester,” said Antretter, who lives in New York. “If I had waited and done an in-depth analysis, this opportunity would have passed. Sometimes you have to go with your gut instinct, too.”

Bikes and Life will sell Giant, Cannondale and Pinarello bicycles.

The owner of Bicycle Alley, David Kahn, announced in August that he was retiring and closing the store. When no one stepped up to purchase the shop, it appeared the site would no longer be in the bicycle business. However, about a month later, Antretter met the original owner of Bicycle Alley, Jim Mercier, who sold the shop to Kahn in 1992, and he told Antretter about Bicycle Alley. Antretter was in Worcester a few days later and signed a five-year lease with an option to purchase the building.

Bikes and Life is a young company that owns a few bicycle shops around the country and plans to keep growing. The company purchased its first bike shop about a year ago in Georgia, bought a second in Littleton, Colorado, in July, is opening shops in Winter Park, Florida, and Mountain View, California, in the next few months, and just added Worcester.

The number of specialty bicycle retailers, or bike shops, has dropped since 2000, from 6,195 in 2000 to 3,790 in 2015, according to the U.S. Bicycle Market 2014 report prepared for the National Bicycle Dealers Association.

However, bike shops in 2014 sold about 3 million bicycles, “a historically healthy number,” according to NBDA. “This leads to the conclusion that the stores are becoming larger on average, with similar sales volume through fewer stores. Still, given the importance of physical bike shops to American cyclists, the decline is troubling. Without healthy and vibrant local sources for bike products, service and repair, growth in cycling participation will be difficult to achieve.”

Calendar

Oct. 18 — The Bikeman.com Casco Bay Cyclo-Cross Race, Eastern Promenade Road, Portland, Maine. Information: strategic-racing.com/cyclocross/.

Oct. 24 — Fruitlands Cup of Cyclo-Cross, 102 Prospect Hill Road, Harvard. Presented by Bikway Source/Bell Lap Racing. Information: www.bikereg.com.

Oct. 25 — The Wicked Ride of the East, Kona Bicycles Adventure Ride, Harold Parker State Forest, North Andover. Ride in a group or follow marked courses in a fun and festive atmosphere. Information: www.nemba.org .

Oct. 25 — Cranberry Harvest Ride, presented by the Charles River Wheelmen. John T. Nichols Middle School, 112 Tiger Drive, Middleboro. Ride options of 32, 42, 66 and 102 miles. Information: www.crw.org.

9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Oct. 25 — Old Furnace Fun Ride, Old Furnace State Park, Danielson, Connecticut. Presented by the Quiet Corner Chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association. Marked loops for self-guided rides or join a guided group. Information: www.nemba.org.

Nov. 8 — Bagels and a Witch road ride, presented by the Charles River Wheelmen. Masconomet High School, 20 Endicott Road, Boxford. Ride options of 20, 44 and 52 miles. Information: www.crw.org.

Selected Saturdays or Sundays — Easy C Rider road rides with Seven Hills Wheelmen. Moderately paced bicycle rides, typically 15 to 35 miles, on relatively gentle terrain in the Worcester area. Starting times and locations are posted each week at www.easycrider.com. RSVP to Dick Goodman at leader@easycrider.com.

Submit bike listings to mark.conti@telegram.com; Mark Conti, Telegram & Gazette, P.O. Box 15012, Worcester, MA 01615-0012; or fax attention to Mark Conti at (508) 793-9281.

— Contact Mark Conti at mark.conti@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @markconti11