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Midway Cyclery owners decide it's time to close shop Fire in June helped family speed up the
difficult decision
Trinity Hartman Staff writer
Midway Cyclery has put the brakes on nearly a half-century of peddling bicycles.
"It is kind of the end of the era for our family and the community," Brian Franklin said.
Initially, Franklin hoped to reopen in a different location. But after talking with his
family, he decided to retire.
It was a family decision, Franklin said, and a difficult one.
Franklin's father, Clark Franklin, started the store in 1958. His sister, Christy Moss, kept
the books.
Franklin grew up among the spokes and wheels of Midway Cyclery's store in the heart of the
Spokane Valley.
A June fire hastened the store's demise. The cause of the fire was never pinpointed, but it
was believed to have been an electrical failure.
While the fire didn't structurally damage the building, heavy smoke coated its contents.
Instead of doing extensive remodeling, Clark Franklin decided to sell the building.
Brian Franklin thought about opening elsewhere, but the bicycle business has changed.
Midway Cyclery made its name selling Schwinns. Those bikes are now carried by big retailers,
making competition tough for small specialty shops.
Midway Cyclery was housed in one of Spokane Valley's oldest storefronts.
The 1920 brick building sits in a row of buildings at Sprague and Pines that house venerable
family-owned businesses such as Dave's Bar and Grill and Peters Hardware.
Tom Hamilton Sr. recently purchased the building. He also owns the nearby Valley
Repertory Theater.
The theater has been transformed into a spot for the Spokane Dream Center church's youth group
to meet. The Midway Cyclery building also will be used by the church group after undergoing
remodeling, Hamilton said Wednesday.
The second floor was used as storage, but used to be apartments.
Hamilton said current plans call for remodeling the area into living spaces.
"As far as the main level is concerned, I have no idea at this point," Hamilton said.
Franklin, 46, will undergo a personal transformation from businessman to stay-at-home dad.
He'll watch Jason, 1, while his wife Jackie Franklin continues working as an accountant.
"I want to be able to spend time with my son and my family," Franklin said.