Holland’s isn’t the only bike shop in town. But sometimes it feels like it. Certainly, it is in a class all its own with its large storefront on Orange Avenue and that it seems to have been around forever. But, with recent changes, it has outclassed even itself. It has added new services, products, and more recently, with the acquisition of Bikes and Beyond, another location as well.
The Coronado Times spoke with co-owner, Karl Young, to hear about Holland’s history and to learn more about the recent acquisition of Bikes and Beyond along with other recent changes.
According to Young, Holland’s is one of Coronado’s oldest businesses, having been around since 1924. He says, “My understanding is that it is the oldest business on the island, with the exception of the Del Hotel.” He said that when it originally opened, it sold phonographs and paint, along with bicycles.
Young says that he is only the third owner of Holland’s. He purchased the shop about three years ago “as a retirement project with a couple of friends from High School.”
In the last year, Holland’s has grown in a number of ways. It opened two new spaces near the original store on Orange Avenue, including a new Service Center on 10th Street (next to Clayton’s Take-Out) and an Electric Bike Showroom, just down from the main shop at 969 Orange Avenue. Young says, “Most recently [on February 1], we opened our new rental operation ‘Holland’s Bikes & Beyond’ at the Ferry Landing…where we rent all types of bicycles, including e-bikes (electric bikes), tandems and quadricycles (2 and 4 wheel bikes), and offer light bicycle maintenance and repair services as well.”
When asked what he thought about all the talk of dockless biking, Young says “We decided to expand Holland’s rental operations with the opening of Holland’s Bikes & Beyond…when it was determined that there was no real need for Limebikes on the island.” He points out that “with the significant expansion of our rental fleet and our strategic locations at both sides of the island, I feel confident that Holland’s can serve the growing bicycle needs of both our community and our visitors even better than it has for the last 94 years.”
Mark Rupp, a recent visitor to Coronado from Nebraska, came to San Diego with the intention of spending a good deal of time biking. Rump said that he chose Holland’s from the internet before his arrival because, “they had gotten good reviews, I liked their website, and they had a [large] selection of bikes to rent.” He added, “so much selection I had a hard time deciding what to go with.” He also said that even though he made several calls to the shop the week before his arrival, “they were very friendly and not too rushed to take time to answer questions.”
When asked how the experience was, Rupp said, “It was an awesome experience.” He took his rental out for a test ride and Holland’s addressed “each of my concerns,” including tightening the seat, adding a water bottle holder and telling Rupp that he didn’t need a kit (in the event of getting a flat) because, “They said I could just give them a call if I had a flat and they’d come help me out. I told them I might be up to 20 miles away and they didn’t flinch … Also, I asked if I hated the bike after the first day, could I bring it back and exchange it for a different bike and that was no problem [either].”
Moreover, Rupp added that when he was getting ready to leave the shop, “one of the guys brought up google maps on his computer and showed me a lot of cool places to bike and zoomed in to show me street view as well. They were really over the top.”
When asked if Young has any more plans for the future that he’d like the public to know, he said, “I am excited to be able to provide even greater levels of service and support to our community and look forward to working with the bicycle advisory committee, the City Council, the Chamber of Commerce, and the visitors bureau in any way that I can to further address the needs of the community as it relates to traffic calming, bicycle safety, and visitor mobility.”
Holland’s hours at the original location are 10 am – 7 pm, Monday – Saturday, and 10 am – 5 pm on Sundays. The hours at Holland’s Bikes and Beyond are listed as 9 am until Dusk, every day, 365 days per year.
