Holland’s Bicycles is one of the very first small businesses established in Coronado back in 1924. As Holland’s celebrates 100 years in Coronado, we learn about their success and what the future holds.
Karl Young, co-owner of Holland’s shares, “Back then, Holland’s sold not only bicycles, but paints and phonographs. Bicycles have always been such a large part of the community on Coronado. It’s been a pleasure to continue to serve the community in its original location.”
After Karl moved to Coronado and fell in love with everything the island has to offer, he noticed a for sale sign on the door of Holland’s. Karl purchased Holland’s 10 years ago with two of his childhood friends. “My friends and I, Dale Sokolov and Charlie Ganz (both of whom had second homes here growing up), were all looking for something fun to do in semi-retirement. We jumped at the chance to get involved in such an impactful way in our bicycle-dominated community.” In addition to working with some of his closest friends, Karl also shares that his son, Nelson, is the General Manager. “It is an absolute pleasure for me to work with him on a daily basis!”
After 100 years of business, it is no surprise that Coronado’s bike shop has undergone some changes. Karl jokes, “Well, we don’t sell paints or phonographs any longer!” He adds, “the most significant change has been the increased popularity of electric bicycles.”
Electric Bikes – What Holland’s is Doing
While Holland’s celebrates 100 years in Coronado, a controversial topic around town has been e-bikes. Karl shares this message:
“As a community, we need to do a better job of educating younger folks on e-bike safety and the rules of the road. E-bikes have had positive impact for many adults in a number of ways. They have encouraged more people to ride bikes much more often. Not only are there significant health benefits to riding a bike but e-bikes are encouraging more people to commute to work and even take their young ones to school in a fun, healthy way.
“E-bike access to younger riders also eliminates the need for parents to have to drive those to school that live too far to walk or ride a traditional bike. All of this benefits everyone by taking more cars off our busy roads. It also helps the environment. Younger riders enjoy the incredible newfound freedom that e-bikes afford them. However, they don’t inherently understand the risks involved with unsafe riding habits.”
E-Bike Safety
“Most [under 15] have never operated a motorized vehicle. Many are not always as careful as they should, or need to, be in order to keep themselves and others safe. Education by the schools and behavioral enforcement by the local authorities is a must as e-bikes continue to grow even more popular with younger riders. At Holland’s, we do what we can to educate both the riders and their parents to the potential safety hazards on the roads and sidewalks, but once they leave the store there isn’t much we can do to make sure they are taking proper safety precautions. We know that this issue is on the minds of everyone in our community. Holland’s is ready to assist the schools and law enforcement in educating the young riders and keeping all of us safe.”
Growing a Business
Not only is Holland’s one of the longest standing businesses in Coronado, but also one of the businesses with the most locations on island. Holland’s is prepared to meet all of its customers’ needs. They’ve been operating four locations since 2017.
Karl says, “We have four separate areas including our Service Center on 10th Street, around the corner from the main shop on Orange. While not ideal, the opening of the Service Center on 10th has been an enormous benefit for our customers.
“It has also been an unfortunate reality that we have had to scale back our rental operation at our main location to accommodate all the growth we have experienced in both our Sales and Service operations. That said, we have been able to accommodate most of our rental needs at our location at the Ferry Landing. We continue to look for an additional location to build back our rental offerings more centrally. So far we have yet to find a suitable location.”
Reflecting on 100 years at Holland’s Bikes
Karl credits the success of Holland’s to the community and the quality of service they provide. “It certainly doesn’t hurt that Coronado is such a bicycle friendly community. Our commitment is selling the very best bicycles and accessories. We also provide the highest level of customer service possible, which is what continues to bring people back.”
Behind the Scenes at Holland’s
When you walk into Holland’s you see the friendly faces of the whole team. That kind of energy isn’t an accident. Karl shares, “The most rewarding thing about being a part of Holland’s has been the opportunity to be such an integral part of our incredible community. Our internal slogan at Holland’s is that we are ‘The Second Happiest Place on Earth.’ We make sure that is the case everyday internally and do our best to make sure that our customers feel that way as well.  It is our objective that our customers leave with a bigger smile on their face than when they came in. That just about always happens. We get amazingly positive reviews from our customers almost every day and it truly warms my heart to be able to share those comments with our team.”
In addition to a positive team environment boosting the customer experience, there is also life long magic happening. Karl shares, “It’s been very rewarding to have been able to impact the lives of many young folks that have worked with us during summer breaks from high school and beyond. For most, it has been their first work experience. They go off to college and have become wonderful adults. Many have come back from college to work with us during their summer and winter breaks. It has truly been a pleasure to see how they have developed.”
To 100 More Years
As Holland’s Bikes celebrates 100 years in Coronado, Karl thanks the community. “We certainly wouldn’t have as much fun, nor be as successful as we have been if it weren’t for the continued and growing support of this wonderful, bike friendly community. We’ll continue to do our best to make Holland’s the second happiest place on earth. We look forward to doing so for another 100 years!”
Sales and Service: 977 Orange Ave
Rental and Service: 1201 1st Street, #122
Facebook • Holland’s Bicycles Website • @hollands_bicycles Instagram
