Sierra Bicycle Werks - Visalia, CA

123 E. Main Street, Visalia, CA 93291

http://www.sierrabicycles.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SierraBicycleWerks/

Owner Craig Peyron worked his way through school in Arizona by repairing bicycles in a shop. From that experience, he got the desire to have his own place one day.

After moving back to his home state of California and settling in Visalia, he found an existing bicycle shop at 123 E. Main Street and bought it. The shop had been there since 1996; Peyron bought it in 2002.

Located in the San Joaquin Valley, Sierra Bicycle Werks sits along the “Gateway to the Sequoias,” just 36 miles west of Sequoia National Park and the largest tree in the world.

Peyron says he is really lucky to have his shop here. “This is a really nice downtown…we get a lot of foot traffic, there’s a great restaurant culture with microbrews and coffee shops.”

Customers have suggested that he move to a bigger location than his cramped 5000-square-foot space. But Peyron packs the shop as full as he can and is committed to the full-family sales and service he provides at this spot.

In some circles, Sierra Bicycle Werks is very well known for being a niche shop that provides higher-end models of road bikes for serious bicyclists. However, Peyron points out that he gets all kinds of customers: “People that get their kid's first bike, someone that will buy a $17,000 bicycle and transients off the street.” He says that, like any city, the transient population in Visalia often has bicycles as their only mode of transportation. The shop fixes their broken and damaged bicycles just as they do for the millionaires that come in.

While Peyron is well aware of the way 123 Main Street is the “anywhere USA” address, it does have some drawbacks for him, from misdirected deliveries that he has had to track down to vendors who have a good laugh when they hear 123 Main Street. Still, he considers himself lucky to have the address and states, “I never want to move.”

Aardvark Screen Printing and Embroidery - Bowling Green, OH

123 S. Main Street, Bowling Green, OH 43402

http://www.aardvarkspe.com

Back in the mid-1980s, Gary Bell was teaching graphic design at the now closed Macomber-Whitney High School in Toledo. As a hobby after school, he and two other colleagues began a homebrew club that made wine and beer. They also sold homebrew supplies such as yeast, hops and malt. The hobby soon expanded and they began printing designs and logos on glassware.

It wasn’t long afterwards that people began coming to Bell and requesting that he print other items like t-shirts. “I had one idea and the community had another,” he says.

So in 1987, he teamed with his homebrew pals and established Aardvark in Rossford, Ohio. The name came about because, “you have to remember, that was pre-Internet and you had to be aware of advertising in the phone directory,” noted Bell. A business beginning with “double A” put them at the top of the list.

Eventually, Bell bought out his partners and moved the business to a 1500-square-foot shop across from Bowling Green State University. When he outgrew that location and a sports store friend vacated his 3000-square-foot space on Main Street, Bell moved the operations to the current address.

Now situated in the heart of the thriving historical downtown business district, Aardvark provides the community custom, in-house decorated screenprinted and embroidered garments. T-shirts, golf shirts, hoodies, local high school spirit wear and varsity jackets are some of the most popular products. Bell is also licensed with Bowling Green State University to create items with the school’s logo.

His team has expanded to 10 staff members and the beginning of the school year is a busy time for the shop. In an area that is filled with other small businesses, Bell says he gets positive feedback from the community as everyone strives to “buy local.” With the ability to screenprint or embroider more than 700 different types of items, Bell seems to have achieved the vision he notes on his website, “to be the exclusive local source for custom imprinted apparel and promotional products.”

Dodds Monuments - Xenia, OH

123 W. Main Street,  Xenia, OH 45385

http://www.doddsmonuments.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dodds-Monuments/143663775665356

Located in southwestern Ohio, Xenia is the only city in the United States starting with the letter "X" that has a population of more than 5,000. It’s here that one will find Dodds Monuments, one of the largest memorial companies in the country.

In 1864, Scottish immigrant brothers George and Andrew Dodds were stone masons who established the company just 60 years after Xenia was founded. As current company president Neil Fogarty explains, “George was a man with a vision.” He went from a simple mason to owning three stone quarries and having shops in every major market in the country, including Boston, St. Louis and New York. In fact, George had offices in the Pershing Building, directly across the street from Grand Central Station in New York City.

However, it was in Xenia that Dodds set up the central hub for his business. The main office building on Main Street was created from repurposed lumber and materials from the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904.  Fogarty says that when, on April 3, 1974, an F-5 tornado tore through the city, killing 33 people and injuring more than 1,300 others, those who returned “believed things would be okay because the Dodds Monument building was still standing.”

Forty years later, Xenia is still struggling to get back to what it once was. More than 1,400 buildings were damaged or destroyed. Dodds Monument is one of the last destination retailers along Main Street. Most of the city’s commerce is now done on the west side of town.

But in this space, more than 150 years after the company began, Dodds employees still hand etch, laser etch and custom sandblast designs for their customers. Many of their clients are third or fourth generation family members who return because of the customer service their family has received at Dodds Momuments.

“We put caring into the product,” says Fogarty, “People come back because they know we really care. We listen to what they say about their family member and we help create a memorial that puts [into stone] what they are expressing.”

Fogarty notes the importance of his company’s role is in the emotional process for clients. “Studies show that a memorial allows for finality. It allows a grieving family to express love. A memorial is a lasting piece of love…such permanency allows for families to return [for anniversaries, birthdays, etc.] and grapple with the grieving process. You never get over a death, but [having a memorial] helps you deal with it.”

Each year, hundreds of families turn to Dodds Monuments to create these memorials. This includes Marcus Hanna and other friends of William McKinley who called on Dodds in the early 1900s. The company created the 25th President’s memorial in Canton, Ohio. 

In addition to the home office, Dodds has branches in Dayton, Lebanon, Middletown, Milford and Springfield, Ohio.

Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria - Spindale, NC

123 W. Main Street, Spindale, NC 28160

www.barleystaproomspindale.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barleysinspindale

Spindale, North Carolina has been described as “an hour away from everywhere.” Thus, this taproom and pizzeria located on Main Street is a pretty popular place for those in the area.

Located in the Southeastern section of the state, the town sits in Rutherford County, a county that was “dry” until the early 2000s.  Tim Smith – who shares ownership with Rodney Butler and Linette and Mark Gosnell – opened a pawnshop in this space, but then began the restaurant when liquor could be sold.

Today, they have 20 beers on tap that rotate every week. Customers will find a variety of local microbrews. There’s no other domestic beer on tap; you can still get it in bottles.

While very family-friendly and, as they describe, “where suit and tie meet tie dye,” one might be surprised by the decor when first entering. “At the doorway,” owner Linette Gosnell states, “is a big arrow that says ‘drugs’ and points in.” That antique tile work is left over from the 1920’s when the building housed Sloan’s Drug Store in the heart of downtown Spindale.

Barley’s continues the antique look inside. The 3500 square foot space, remodeled by the owners before opening in 2006, has the original tin ceilings, a bar top made from the floor of the old local school and hallway lights obtained before the demolition of a residence hall at Appalachian State University.

The many photographs that line the walls were donated by the families of the Stonecutter Foundation from days when Spindale was a mining town. “There’s a photo of the time all the employees got paid in coins and some guy is there with his wheelbarrel [full of his weekly pay],” says Gosnell.

The restaurant was recognized as “Best Taproom in the South” in Southern Draught Beer News and picked as “Top Tap in the South” by Celebrator Beer Magazine, but the hand-tossed sourdough pizza and live music (bluegrass, country and jazz performed local artists) also bring in the crowds.

Interestingly, their address wasn’t always 123 West Main Street. “We originally started out as 115 West Main Street, but GPS was having a hard time finding us and sending people to the next county,” noted Gosnell. Approximately five years ago, in 2010, the town renumbered the businesses on Main Street. “We ended up with 123.”

There are four other Barley’s locations in the area – Ashville, NC; Greenville, SC and Knoxville, TN. All are independently owned and operated.

Bookends Bookstore - Hutchinson, KS

123 N. Main Street, Hutchinson, KS 67501

http://www.bookendshutch.com

Gwen and Wes Bartlett grew up in Hutchinson, Kansas, went off to college and pursued jobs in various small towns throughout the state. Wes was a high school English teacher and coach, and Gwen was an elementary school librarian. When they retired in 2011, they came back to their hometown and decided to open a bookstore.

Hutchinson didn’t have a used bookstore and, after the couple had attended a workshop in Colorado, they learned about antique books. Today, that’s their business’ specialty. (You can find new books in the bookstore across town).

At Bookends, customers can buy, sell or trade both hardback and paperback, antique books (late 1800s and early 1900s) and collectible books. The store carries many history and children’s books. The oldest book they had in the store was a 1768 book about the history of a church in Spain. It was written in Latin on parchment paper. It has since been sold.

Currently amongst their 20,000 volumes is a first edition of Jurassic Park, autographed by the author, the late Michael Crichton. Gwen’s research indicates the value of the book to be about $800. It’s priced at $600 in the store.

A statue of Humpty Dumpty is located at the entrance of the store.
Photo courtesy of Gwen Bartlett.

“I think it’s important to stay busy after you retire,” Gwen said about the business venture they began in 2012. The Bartletts have taken what was once a hotel built in the 19th century and transformed the street-level restaurant into the bookstore. The 20 rooms above their store are also in the process of being remodeled. They will become four apartments; the Bartletts will keep one for themselves and rent the other three.

An interesting fact they discovered about the building was that the width of the property – and many other properties on Main Street – is 25 feet. When building began along Main Street in the 1800s, businesses were taxed every 25 feet. Thus, many buildings are only a narrow 25 feet wide and then reach far back and up. Their property extends 50 feet back.

The bookstore’s mascot can be seen roaming the entire space. Mordred is a black cat that was adopted by the Bartletts from the Central Kansas Veterinary Center in South Hutchinson. His name comes from the story of King Arthur; Mordred, it is told, was a notorious traitor who fought King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann. The bookstore’s Mordred is not a villain, but “a sweet, gentle cat who loves to be petted.” Gwen says many customers stop in simply to see him.

Forrest York Guitars - Murfreesboro, TN

123 E. Main Street, Murfreesboro, TN 37130

http://www.forrestyorkguitars.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Forrest-York-Guitars/294081367302257

Photo courtesy of Google Maps

Before having the inclination to open his own guitar store, Forrest York spent 15 years in a recording studio, followed by 15 years managing another guitar store. He’d been looking for a space where he could set up his own shop. When the interior design store on Main Street closed in 2011, it was a perfect find because his wife was using another room in the building to teach a keyboard lab class.

As a small and family-owned and operated enterprise, York says his is not “just a guitar store.” The mission statement on his website (designed by his son) states that they wish to “empower our customers with great instruments, professional lessons, repairs, and the knowledge needed to get the most out of being a musician.”

York’s day-to-day is filled with repairs and modifying instruments. Customers will also encounter a constantly rotating inventory of unique guitars. He carries Gibson, Martin, Fender and even handmade models. York relies on finds from yard sales or consignments shops. All are very carefully curated because he wants customers to find, “good specialty guitars, not some cookie cutter [model].”

Located on the city’s “square,” only miles from the absolute geographic center of the state of Tennessee, Forrest York Guitars is in a 100 year-old building that was a doctor’s office long ago. “There’s a room in the back with lead walls,” York reports, “I was told it was where the first x-ray room in the county was located.”

Today, it’s where musicians can find guitars, amps, pedals, parts, and music lessons in guitar, keyboards, piano and voice.

While he loves that his family gets to work together under one roof, he has encountered one hiccup in having such a “generic” address at 123 E. Main Street: “People joke with me that it’s not real…I applied for a credit application and the guy thought I wasn’t giving a real address.”

Action Jackson Comics - Urbana, IL

123 W. Main Street, Suite 102, Urbana, IL 61801

http://www.actionjacksoncomics.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ActionJacksonComics

The exterior of 123 W. Main Street gets a new coat of
paint in August 2015.

Store owner Jackson Bird has liked comic books since he was a kid growing up in Princeton, Illinois.

While working in Bismarck, North Dakota as a city forester, he opened a comic book store. Bismarck didn’t have one at the time and he found his niche. However, his long hours working a day job required him to have a staff and only spend evening hours at the store.

In February 2015, he decided to move back home to Illinois and dedicate himself to the store 100 percent of the time. He rented this space on Main Street in the college town of Urbana where the store is frequented by University of Illinois students as well as locals. Bird said he was happy to find that this square footage is even bigger than that of his previous store.

He carries a wide variety of new comics, graphic novels, movie posters and collectibles. His inventory includes new products as well as back issues that span many genres, including a wide variety of family and kid-friendly materials.

There are specials every Saturday and he also participates in Free Comic Book Day on the first day of May.

As he settles into his new spot in Illinois, Bird hopes to continue a tradition of reading and costume contests he had at his North Dakota shop.

M.J. Miller & Co. - Barrington, IL

123 W. Main Street, Barrington, IL 60010

www.mjmillerjewelers.com

Michael Miller has been fascinated with gems since he was a child. He took a correspondence course about diamonds at age 10. By 15, he was traveling from his home in North Dakota to New York to visit diamond cutters.

When it came to choosing a profession, his father encouraged him to get a career in pharmacy. So he did. By 1970, he had established himself in Barrington, Illinois as a pharmacist, but he also sold jewelry in the back of Esh Pharmacy.

In June 2000, just as his extensive jewelry stock was growing and he needed more room, a customer came in and told him about their business space on Main Street. She and her husband were moving to Naples, Florida, and the building they had constructed at 123 West Main Street was available.

With 16 parking spaces right in front of the building and a location on the village’s major street of commerce (with a major grocery store chain directly across the street), Miller knew it was just what he needed. He bought the building on the spot.

Main Street is also the area’s county divider. The north side of Main Street sits in Illinois’ Lake County; the south side is Cook County. According to the Internal Revenue Service, Barrington, Illinois is the seventh wealthiest zip code in the United States.

These affluent customers are the ones who come into one of the largest privately-owned jewelry retail organizations in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. Miller prides himself on the fact that clients trust him and know that he will often have unique gems in stock. And if he doesn’t have something, “I know exactly where to get it,” he says. In fact, Miller travels extensively to find the gems for his custom designs. As his website proclaims, “We strive everyday to earn the confidence of our clients by exceeding their expectations.”

In addition to local customers, Miller has amassed celebrity clients including royalty, television stars and professional athletes. One of the most memorable pieces: Maya Angelou’s 75th birthday present commissioned by Oprah Winfrey. Miller designed a brooch that featured an 18-carat gold birdcage with a platinum canary and a ruby heart. The piece was inspired by one of Angelou’s most famous works, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”