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Owner says many factors played into decision

At the end of August, Broadway Bike Co. will close its doors after almost 10 years of being in Albert Lea.

Dan Lestrud, the store owner, said running the bike shop has been a good experience, but having the retail business in a small town is no longer feasible, as most of its revenue comes from repairs and selling fishing supplies.

Born and raised in Albert Lea, Lestrud said he always enjoyed riding bikes, both around town and on county roads. He also loved wrenching and fixing things. He got a job at a local bike shop when he was a teenager.

In 1993, Lestrud opened Southside Cycling of Albert Lea. He ran the store until about 2000, when he said he decided to take a job with benefits so his wife could stay home with their children.

In 2015, Lestrud said he got the idea to start a bike shop again. By this time, his children were older. He opened Broadway Bike Co. in 2016 at 114 S. Broadway Ave.

Lestrud said his favorite part of the business has been meeting people and helping them get into cycling in hopes they enjoy the activity as much as he does.

“It’s been great to get people out on bikes, try to get them on the right bike for the kind of riding they’re going to do and the right size bike,” he said.

One feature of the store, which not many other bike stores can claim, is that Broadway Bike Co. also sells a variety of live bait and fishing tackle.

Lestrud said he himself is not a fisherman, but the idea to sell fishing supplies came from his friend. He said his friend suggested it as a way to get more sales during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I thought, why not? It might be a good little addition, and it has been,” Lestrud said. “It’s a bigger deal than I realize.”

Starting to sell bait was not the only change that occurred when the pandemic began. Because it was considered an essential business, Broadway Bike Co. was allowed to stay open and saw a surge in popularity.

“People were looking for things to do,” Lestrud said, adding he thinks it was the busiest year the store had ever had.

However, the following year, he began having trouble supplying products.

“The first year of COVID was really busy, but that mid-summer, all of a sudden, you couldn’t get bike parts anymore, and it was just sold out,” he said.

Because this was an industry-wide issue, he said, he hoped the problem would sort itself out eventually. He also said he had gotten a couple of years’ worth of sales during the pandemic, so was expecting a slow couple of years to follow.

Now, in 2025, supplying products is no longer an issue, but Lestrud said sales have not picked back up. He said bike repairs have remained steady as they are something people cannot do online.

He added he speculates part of the reason for the drop in sales is that people’s buying habits have shifted, a change he thinks was accelerated during the pandemic.

“It’s just hard, kind of like so many other businesses nationwide … retail in general. It’s just a changing world,” he said.

Lestrud said his plans are to continue to run the store through the end of August with discounts continuing to increase as time goes on. He hopes to liquidate all of the bikes in his store.

“When we get to the end of summer, I really … need to have as much of this product gone as possible. Hopefully all of it,” he said.

He also said he plans to stop selling bait after the Fourth of July, as high mid-summer temperatures slow the sale of fishing supplies anyway.

Although he is not sure what will happen to the building space he rents after he leaves, Lestrud said he is sure the current landlord will be able to fill the space quickly as it is a great location in the center of downtown Albert Lea.

Since announcing the store’s closing, Lestrud said many people from the community have stopped in, not necessarily to buy things, but to say they are sorry to see the place closing and wish him well in his future plans.

It’s been really nice, he said.

Lestrud said he plans to find other employment after the store closes and is excited to see where life’s journey will take him.