SAN ANTONIO — Hank Estrada owns Charles A. James Bike Co., the oldest bike shop in San Antonio.

“Just turned 103 years old,” Estrada said. “I want to keep the store going still. I don’t want to see it shut down. We’re doing everything we can to stay open.”

Hank’s dad, Henry, was the previous owner of the Charles A. James Bike shop, a thriving business during the 1970s bike boom.

“Back then, we were doing an average of 25 repairs a day,” Hank Estrada said. “And selling about 2000 bikes a month.”

He says business had been steady since he took over the shop in 2002. But recently, construction downtown almost stopped the shop from reaching its 103rd anniversary.

“Lost anywhere between 50-60% of our revenue because of construction,” Hank Estrada said.

The bike shop is boxed in by construction. A city project on Main Street near a 32-floor high-rise being built across the street makes it hard for customers to park.

“We had three parking spots here, then they took over the street,” Hank Estrada said. “We lost four on this side and three on the other side.”

The street construction is expected to be completed this summer. But the high-rise will take another year and a half. The City of San Antonio has made the spots outside the shop 30-minute parking. There’s also signs reminding construction workers to park elsewhere.

“A lot of people don’t want to drive in the construction,” Hank Estrada said. “We are open. Don’t let the construction stop you.”

But, unfortunately, it did just that. Hank Estrada had to plea for customers' help during the holidays. He was afraid he couldn’t afford to stay open in 2023.

“People have been bringing in repairs,” he said. “That’s our main income that we do here. As long as they keep doing that, we will survive.”

Now that the pandemic bike boom has worn off, small bike shops aren’t thriving like they once were because of supply chain shortages.

“So far we’ve been hanging in there,” Hank Estrada said.

His father ran the place until he was 91. So at 71, Hank Estrada's not ready to retire. He wants to keep the doors open as long as possible to support Mark, his only employee, who’s a single father.

“He knows one day, I’m going to say, I can’t pay you,” Hank Estrada said. “So far we haven’t hit that and I hope we never do.”