Just passing it along.

New Fort Myers Harley-Davidson superstore opens in October



Dick Hogan, dhogan@news-press.com 3:28 p.m. EDT June 16, 2014

Six Bends Harley-Davidson

Six Bends isn't your father's Harley-Davidson motorcycle shop.

In fact, when it opens starting in October at Daniels Parkway and Interstate 75 in south Lee County, the 16-acre complex probably won't look like any motorcycle dealership you've ever seen.

It will have rock concerts for as many as 5,000 people, a two acre rider academy and its own message board on I-75.

Six Bends (the name derives from the six bends in a motorcycle's handlebars) is the brainchild of Scott Fischer, owner of six Harley franchises nationally including Harley-Davidson of Fort Myers, which will move in October to the new location from its current site at the old Toys R Us on Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers.

He hopes to build the new location into "the greatest worldwide destination for Harley customers," selling them the latest in Harley paraphernalia.

When it comes to Harley enthusiasts, the interstate is the place to be because many are members of clubs that take to the road — especially in tourist areas such as Florida.

As a result, Fischer said, "Visibility is very important. We want them to come 50, 100 at a time."

He's also working on recruiting new Harley riders: Music fans at the concerts, for example, also will have ready access to his showroom.

Fischer has about 70 employees at his 46,000-square-foot store on Colonial now and said, "We feel we'll probably grow our staff 40 percent" when they move into the new 54,000-square-foot, two-story dealership.

The project also is planned to include two buildings with a total of 45,000 square feet of office and retail space separate from the Harley dealership, said commercial real estate agent Lisa Sands of VIP Realty, who's handling leasing of the space.

When the two buildings open in the summer of 2015, she said, Fischer is hoping for Harley-friendly businesses to locate there.

"They would love to have a brewery, a restaurant," she said. "There are all these new craft beers coming out."

Also, Sands said, "I've gotten calls from a cigar store, a barbershop, a pizza place, a tattoo guy."

Retailers will be on the first floor of the buildings with the second floor for offices, she said: "Maybe an attorney's office or an insurance company."

The bottom line, she said, is that the whole complex will be "an entertainment venue, things that would attract the Harley rider."

 

Sounds pretty damn awesome. If you can visit a bike shop, get a tattoo, and visit an attorney all in one place my life would be a hell of a lot simpler.