DeKALB – Pierce Harley-Davidson is not closing after all, co-owner Marylou Pierce Smith said.
It just won't be Pierce Harley-Davidson much longer.
The Daily Chronicle reported Thursday that the motorcycle dealership at 969 Peace Road in DeKalb was closing after nearly 54 years of business when a store employee said the store was closing for good Saturday. Pierce Smith and the store's other co-owner, Eleanor Pierce, declined to comment Thursday.
But on Friday, Pierce Smith said the employee misunderstood; the shop is not closing, she said. It is being sold. Pierce Smith said she and Eleanor were "retiring."
"And we know we'll be here until [the sale] comes through," Pierce Smith said.
Pierce Smith said a buyer is lined up but could not comment on specifics until everything is approved by them, the buyer and Harley-Davidson corporate.
The shop will be closed for the New Year's holiday weekend, but plans to be open as normal Tuesday.
The dealership started in 1957 out of the garage of DeKalb resident Wayne Pierce. When he and his son, Wayne "Whiz" Pierce Jr. died in 2007, his daughter, Marylou, and his wife, Eleanor – who'd been with business since the beginning – took over the reins.