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PrintLee's Bicycles rides uptown
A new bike shop location opens this month.
Lee’s Bicycles is returning to its roots with a new location in downtown Tulsa.
The shop, which began in 1914 at East Second Street and South Boulder Avenue, recently moved from its Brookside location to one in the Blue Dome district near East Second Street and South Frankfort Avenue.
When QuikTrip purchased the Brookside location, which it plans to tear down to expand space for its adjacent store, owner Adam Vanderburg looked to downtown and other midtown locations to relocate the established business.
The new store is located in a 14,500-square-foot building constructed in 1915 and originally home to a wagon and wheel company — an ironic twist of fate, according to Vanderburg. He says he did not know the building’s history until he purchased the property and began renovations, but he likes that the building has come full circle.
“We’re taking an old building that was really needing some tender, loving care and bringing it back to life,” he says.
Lee’s will occupy about 6,000 square feet and Vanderburg hopes to bring in other “like-minded” tenants to fill the remaining space.
The new location is near three trailheads and is a great access point to start a run or bike ride, he says.
Vanderburg says it wasn’t until some downtown ambassadors took him on a tour of the bustling area that he was sold on downtown.
Vanderburg wanted to move downtown to not only be able to expand his business and appeal to the professional crowd but also to become more vocal with city leaders about pro-cycling movements, he says.
“We want to make the IDL and Tulsa in general a lot more bicycle and pedestrian friendly and, being closer to it, maybe we can get a little more involved,” he says. “We’re here and doing this to help make change.”
Lee’s Bicycles’ grand opening is April 3. For more information, call 743-4285.
