Jack’s Bicycle
was started in
Dearborn, Michigan
in 1936. Dora and
Edward “Jack”
Goocher started the business with
just $55 and a lot
of ambition. Jack
rented a small wood
building on Mason
Street in Dearborn
next to the Stag
Bar. With just four
Columbia bicycles
purchased from
Montgomery Wards, the
business was
started.
Jack Goocher passed
away in 1967 and Dora
Goocher passed away in 2004. Their sons, Bob
and Don, took over
the Business and ran
it until 1976 when
Bob retired. Don
Goocher has since turned the business
over to his two
sons, Brian and
Scott Goocher, the
grandchildren of
Jack and Dora
Goocher.
Jack’s Bicycle now
has two locations,
one on Michigan Avenue in Dearborn and
the other in Monroe
on South Monroe Street.
At one time, Jack's
had four stores, three in Dearborn and one in Lincoln Park.
The original store on Mason street
store was closed in
1955 when the city
condemned the
building to put in a
parking lot for the
businesses on
Michigan Avenue.
Jack’s then bought the
building on Michigan
Avenue and moved to
it’s current
location and has
been doing business
there ever since. The store in
Lincoln Park was
eventually sold and the other
two other stores
were closed. The
Monroe location was
opened in December
of 1994 by grandson
Scott Goocher. Brian
Goocher runs
the Dearborn store.
The
Goocher family has
always been entrepreneurs.
During the Second
World War the family
manufactured
tricycles. 10,000
tricycles were made
in three different sizes, 12”,
16”, and 20”. Since all other bicycle manufacturers were in war production, Jack's tricycles were sold all over
the country. The
government eventually shut down
the tricycle
business so the steel could be redirected to war production. Before being shut down, the
family was earning a one
dollar profit per
tricycle.
Jack’s has always
been a family store.
Originial customers are now bringing in their grandchildren
and great-grandchildren to buy
bicycles. The store
has focused
on delivering excellent
quality service,
which is why people keep coming
back.
Jack's supports cycling
in the community many ways. You may see a group of Cub Scouts in the store learning about bicycle safety, or see Scott leading a group of
Boy Scouts working on the
Cycling merit badge. Jack's also
works with cycle
clubs to promote
cycling, hosts
bike rodeo’s and
safety talks, and
worked with the city to develop and maintain the Munson Park mountain bike trail.
The Dearborn store
is located at 24308
Michigan Avenue, a
half a block west of
Telegraph. The 5,500
square foot store
carries about 350
bikes in stock at
any one time. The
Monroe store is
located at 206 South Monroe Street in downtown Monroe. The store stocks over 250 bikes, including BMX, children's, mountain, road, and recreational bikes.
In 1998 the Monroe
store sponsored a
show of the Schwinn
freestyle team. The
freestyle team
performed twice and
signed autographs
after
the
shows. The riders
had been seen on the
X Games. Some of the
riders were Jay
Mirron, Dave Osato,
Andrew Farris, and
Joey Garica.
The Goocher Family
will continue to
service the cycling
community for many
more years. Their
passion for cycling
and quality runs
deep. Jack and Dora's
grandchildren are
now
carrying the torch
that there
grandfather lite. You may even see the great grandchildren stopping in to assemble a bicycle now and then.
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