Last month, the dealership’s website said the business was being restructured. But according to Racer X online, a website for motocross racing enthusiasts, the owners of Southside recently sent a letter to customers and suppliers saying the dealership was closing. “The nationwide recession and resulting slow sales of motorcycles have had a devastating effect upon” the company, the letter said, according to the website. “After months of trying to find ways to operate the business profitably and to find a purchaser ... the company has made the decision to cease operations.”
No one connected with the dealership could be reached for comment Monday.
The owner of another dealership — F&S Harley-Davidson, 7220 N. Dixie Drive, Vandalia — said he is working to sell the business.
Gary Stolzenburg, owner of F&S Harley-Davidson, said he wants to retire after selling motorcycles locally since 1961.
“I’m 72 years old, and I’ve been doing this for 50 years,” Stolzenburg said. “I think it’s time for me to step down.”
“I’ve sold over 100,000 motorcycles in 50 years,” he added.
He wasn’t certain Monday who the dealership’s new owner may be. He said much may depend on the ability of a prospective buyer to obtain credit.
F&S has about 10 employees in the winter and about 25 in the summer, he said.
F&S was founded by Stolzenburg and Edgar Fuhr, giving the business its namesake initials. In 1979, Stolzenburg and his wife Mary purchased a Dayton Harley-Davidson franchise and moved it to Dixie Drive in 1981.
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