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Tom Reinke, the longtime general manager of Haverhill’s Riverside Cycle, has taken the reins of the business as owner.
Reinke purchased the bicycle shop from his boss, Aaron Millett, along with two other shops in the locally owned chain. Reinke, who lives in Seabrook, N.H., now owns Riverside Cycle locations in Newburyport and Manchester-By-the-Sea as well.
Fifty-five-year-old Reinke has been associated with bike shops since he began working in 1985 at a small bike and ski shop in Appleton, Wis. He joined Millett’s staff in 2011.
“We are more than just a bike shop as we have become the community center for cyclists in the area,” Reinke said. “People assemble here to catch up with friends and then go out on group rides.”
Reinke said he is planning to organize a regular group ride from the Haverhill shop on Monday mornings. He said Haverhill has many trails that offer a challenge for the beginner as well as more experienced rider.
Riverside Cycle is a true Haverhill landmark having weathered the ups and downs of the economic winds in Haverhill for more than a century, Millett said.
“Haverhill’s first bike shop opened in downtown Haverhill in 1902,” Millett said. “There have certainly been a lot of changes since them. Just in my lifetime I have seen more acceptance of bicycles. Bike lanes are now being incorporated into the design of streets.”
In its early years, it was associated with Herbert Richard Sawyer and was known as the Sawyer Schwinn Bicyclery. Boris Migliori purchased it in 1945 following service in World War II and went on to become a well-known and established Haverhill presence. As redevelopment swept through Haverhill’s downtown in the 60s and 70s, Migliori decided to stay, relocating his shop from Fleet Street to Bailey Street until moving in the present building which he built in 1970.
Migliori died in 2016.
The shop is a dealer for Cannondale, Trek and Specialized. In addition to used and new bikes, the shop offers repairs, tune-ups, accessories and rentals.
In the meantime, Millett opened his first bicycle shop in Newburyport in 1996. He added the Haverhill location in 2013, purchasing the store from Migliori’s son, Arthur.