AN iconic Harley-Davidson dealership has closed its longtime location – but it’s not all bad news for fans.
The owner of the historic outlet on Route 66 in St. Louis has purchased one of its local competitors, merging the two into a single location under a new name.
An iconic Harley-Davidson dealership has closed its longtime location – as its merging with anothet outlet[/caption]
The combined dealership will now operate as St. Louis Harley-Davidson[/caption]
Doc’s Harley-Davidson, founded in 1955 and located at 930 S. Kirkwood Road, owned by Evan and Dina Schipper, a couple from Indiana who own several Harley dealerships in the Midwest.
And they’ve leveled the playing field with their most recent acquisition – Gateway Harley-Davidson – which was one of Doc’s primary rivals.
Now, the two dealerships have now been combined at Gateway’s former location.
According to Biz Journals, the combined dealership will now operate as St. Louis Harley-Davidson, having opened last Tuesday at the Gateway Harley-Davidson location.
Updates to signage and plans for renovations are expected in the near future.
The decision to consolidate the dealerships, a decision that was supported by Harley-Davidson themselves, comes as St. Louis is viewed as having too many Harley-Davidson dealerships.
The area, known for its large Harley following and loyal customer base, is what attracted him to own a dealership in St. Louis in the first place, he said.
Other local dealership options include Green Mount Road Harley-Davidson in O’Fallon, Illinois; Ted’s Motorcycle World in Alton; St. Charles Harley-Davidson in St. Charles; and Gold Star Harley-Davidson in Festus.
“To successfully navigate the current business conditions and financial constraints with the economy, there’s challenges for both businesses that ultimately resulted in us coming together to merge the two stores,” Schipper said.
“Finally we were able to get the pieces and the stars in alignment to make it happen.”
He also hopes that longtime customers of both locations will give the new dealership a chance.
“I can’t say that it’s the physical location that makes the dealership,” he added.
“In my opinion, it’s the people that work there and the relationships that are built between the customers of the St. Louis area and the employees that work at the location.
“So they’re going to see those same great faces from Doc’s Harley-Davidson, they’re going to see those same great faces from Gateway Harley-Davidson, at the new St. Louis Harley-Davidson.”
All of Doc’s employees made the move to the new location, and all but five Gateway employees who chose to leave are staying on, resulting in roughly 40 combined employees.
Schipper hopes that the combined dealership will streamline operations and grow the business to a point where he can eventually hire more employees.
Harley-Davidson closures in 2024
There are over 650 Harley-Davidson dealerships across America.
However, multiple stores have closed for various reasons throughout 2024 – if they give any explanation at all.
Below is a list of some Harley-Davidson locations that have shuttered this year and why they closed their doors:
A San Francisco location closed in June 2024 after 110 years due to ‘chaos’ brought by new management.
Miracle City Harley-Davidson in Titusville, Florida, closed in September 2024 with no reason given.
Harley-Davidson’s legacy location in New York City closed shop on September 28, 2024, with the owner citing problems with the economy.
Reiman’s Harley-Davidson dealership in Kewanee, Illinois, closed its doors in October 2024 after the owners sold the business to the Walter Brothers Harley Davidson dealership in Peoria, Illinois.
Another Illinois dealership closed in November 2024.
Plus, the dealership in West Bend, Wisconsin, is temporarily closing for the season from November 2 until April 1, 2024.
In 2025, Hideout Harley-Davidson in Missouri announced it would shutter at the end of March.
