Pacific Bicycle, situated in the plum-colored warehouse at 345 4th St. since 2011, is closing its doors for good in February.

The business' owner, Dave Bekowich, tells Hoodline that the owners of the building sold the space to a development company on December 1st. He believes the new owners intend to demolish the warehouse and construct a new building—potentially a hotel—in it’s place. Rather than wait until his lease expired, Bekowich—who planned to retire within the next few years—accepted a buy-out offer.

Bekowich opened Pacific Bicycle with his long-time friend and former business partner Dave Guettler in 1983. Their original location was on Turk and Van Ness Avenue.

Bekowich took over the business after Guettler moved to Portland and focused on expansion. At one point there were 13 different Pacific Bicycle locations in Northern California, he says. Bekowich later consolidated back down to one—on Fourth Street.

The decision to take a buy-out and close the shop was not easy for Bekowich, who considers his employees and customers family. However, “Doing business in San Francisco is difficult,” he said. High rent, increasing traffic and the added stress of dealing with the homeless encampments nearby all pushed him toward early retirement.

Although Bekowich hasn't set Pacific Bicycle's last day of business yet, he says it will be in February. In preparation, the shop is holding a clearance sale of all their bikes and accessories for the next couple of months.

We’ll keep you updated on what will become of the warehouse after Pacific Bicycle vacates as we learn more.