Long time Bluffton store closes, says hurricanes part of the reason

Cyclists in the Lowcountry have been taking to social media upset about Bluffton Bicycle Shop closing, partly due to a financial hit from Hurricane Matthew and Tropical Storm Irma.

Tom Lamb, owner of the shop, declined to comment Friday but did confirm the shop would be closing, likely some time next week. He also confirmed that the store, located on Oliver Court, saw a financial loss from Hurricane Matthew which made it difficult to withstand Tropical Storm Irma.

“Tom and his crew at BBS have been serving this community for 15 years and come the last day of this month Tom will shut the doors of literally ‘the friendliest bike shop in town’ forever, and that hurts my heart,” one commenter said about learning of the store closing. “Because all that mechanical knowledge is no longer going to be there for our cycling community when they need it, because there is one thing you cannot buy on the internet and that is knowledge and service.”

Bluffton Bicycle Shop is not the only business citing Hurricane Matthew and Tropical Storm Irma for closing. The Hilton Head Island restaurant 843 also announced it is closing in recent days for the same reasons.

This story was originally published September 23, 2017 at 12:15 PM with the headline "Long time Bluffton store closes, says hurricanes part of the reason."