

"The building is just so big it was practical for her to do it," Schwartz said.īut it has come to be part of the allure as well, as Schwartz keeps having to answer questions about "the girl selling motorcycles with pink roller skates," he said. The space is so open that one sales employee, Lois Hollenbeck, has taken to wearing neon pink roller skates to get around the building. Posters, painted walls, polished floors and new lighting system are just a few of the touches Schwartz used to give the space a vibrant and open feel. "Over 300 people contributed ideas throughout the building," said Liz Ferrari, business development manager.Īdding to the cool flavor, a vintage Coke machine sits in a comfy lounge area where patrons can sip coffee or enjoy a gas fireplace while gazing at a nearby replica of the original 1903 Harley-Davidson garage constructed of wood from the former MacKenzie Farm dairy barn in Waterford.
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Instead of shedding its industrial heritage, the building under Schwartz's guidance has embraced the original warehouse aesthetic, right down to the reclaimed doorways, steel trusses, warehouse-style windows and high tongue-and-groove ceilings. Mike's Famous opened without fanfare in late February after a four-month renovation of the old Coke plant with its distinctive curved edifice. "These are songs that evoke thoughts of the road," Schwartz, a North Stonington resident, said Friday during a tour of his new store.Ī poster at the front of the store sounds a familiar theme of grittiness and independence that resonates with Mike's customers: "The road has always been the place to find the answers. To one side, a generous portion of the store is devoted to motorcycle gear, including boots and helmets, as well as a custom radio station called Mike's Famous Radio that pipes in a selection of more than 2,000 mostly classic-rock songs designed to appeal to the store's male demographic. Motorcycle owners seeking service can ride their hogs right into the building, where the service and parts departments sit side by side, flowing into the main showroom's huge expanse of more than 200 Harley-Davidsons of all sizes, ranging in price from nearly $7,000 to nearly $30,000.įarther down, Sea-Doo personal watercraft, Polaris off-road vehicles and Can-Am three-wheel motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles are on display. Indeed, owner Mike Schwartz, who moved his Harley operations from a store in Groton one-quarter of its current size, seems to have thought of everything in the new incarnation of Mike's Famous.
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"I just come in because it's fun to be here," said Hodges, a retired truck driver with a wide smile and muscular build who goes by the nickname Coach and rides a Harley-Davidson Street Glide. rides from his home in Mystic about four days a week to take in the sights and sounds of Mike's Famous Harley-Davidson, the 55,000-square-foot motorcycle shop that opened just a couple months ago on Bank Street in the old Coca-Cola bottling plant. She and her husband both quit their jobs in 2013 and now travel across the US in an RV.Mike Schwartz, right, owner of Mike's Famous Harley-Davidson on Bank Street in New London, holds an employee meeting Friday in the new Mike's Famous showroom.

Although she first envisioned it as more of a diary, the site now generates revenue through online classes she teaches on the site, affiliate marketing, and advertising (both company-sponsored ads and display ads). Schroeder-Gardner started Making Sense of Cents while pursuing an MBA in finance. "I mystery shopped and got paid to take surveys, but the biggest thing I did was I made an income through my blog. "The biggest reason for why I was able to pay off my student loans is because I earned as much money as I could outside of my day job," she explains on her personal finance and lifestyle blog, Making Sense of Cents. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner paid off $38,000 worth of student loans in just seven months after she graduated from business school. Her secret - and the reason she now earns more than $100,000 a month through her blog - is to focus on earning. Schroeder-Gardner makes more than $100,000 a month through her personal finance blog.

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