By Chris Villanueva, Reporter
Just six months after a fire gutted the San Pedro bicycle shop’s longtime Pacific Avenue location, owner Tony Jabuka reopened The Bike Palace in a smaller storefront on Summerland Avenue, thanks in large part to loyal customers whose donations helped sustain the business and its employees during months of uncertainty and rebuilding.
The beloved community institution held a soft opening June 1 at its new location, 1485 W. Summerland Ave. in Northwest San Pedro.
The bike shop had operated for more than 50 years at 1600 S. Pacific Ave. before it was destroyed by the fire in December 2025.
“Community outreach has been great. It’s been hard — we lost 95% of the store. Thank goodness we found a shop going out of business in Lake Forest and were able to buy everything we needed,” Jabuka said.
The community rallied behind the business through a GoFundMe campaign organized by Jabuka’s daughter. The effort raised about $70,000, enough to keep employees on staff and paid during the six months it took to find a new location and work through the insurance process.
“Have patience with us. The new shop is small, and restocking will take some time. We only have room for about 40 bikes at a time, including repairs,” Jabuka said. “But we can still order bikes, and we will still sell bikes. Most vendors can get orders within three to five days.”
“Our new shop is in a very visible location, but the parking isn’t great. We’re working on that, too,” he said.
“We’re hoping to do a grand opening once we’re a little more organized, but we don’t have a set date yet,” Jabuka said.
Reflecting on the loss of the longtime location and the challenges of rebuilding, Jabuka said he is focused on moving forward.
“It’s a lot of work, and there’s some new learning to be done, but I’m doing OK keeping one foot in front of the other,” he said. “I’ve got good employees who have been with me for years, and they love to work on bikes and care for people. That’s the main thing — caring and doing the best we can.”
The former building at 16th Street and Pacific Avenue, where the fire occurred, will likely be demolished, according to Jabuka. The approximately 100-year-old structure was completely gutted by the blaze. The Bike Palace had operated at that location since 1973.
The iconic Bike Palace sign has been removed and is expected to be displayed at the San Pedro Historical Museum in the near future.