A Presque Isle outdoor company is expanding into merchandise for area sports teams.
Bike Board & Ski enlarged its location at 450 Main St. and launched a new division, BBS Team Sports, in October.
The venture marks the latest expansion for the 11-year-old company. BBS is the area’s only team outfitter and fills a void left four years ago when Northern Athletic Supply closed its Presque Isle spot and moved to central Maine. As Presque Isle eyes a downtown redesign to lure people to the city center, co-owner Andrew Bouchard hopes the store gives residents more reason to spend money locally.
“People want to shop local. You just have to give them options and inventory,” Bouchard said. “The more businesses that there are here, they’ll draw more people to the downtown.”
Bike Board & Ski started out in 2007 as Rocky Mountain Sports in the Aroostook Centre Mall. It moved to 428 Main Street in 2012, and in 2018 moved a few doors north to a 10,000-square-foot space, three times bigger. Now, they’ve added another 2,000 square feet.
The company owns the entire building from the Northeastland Hotel north, which happened when the hotel changed hands in 2021, Bouchard said.
A local development group, Ignite PI, bought the Northeastland property with a plan to redesign it as part of downtown revitalization. The parcel included Bike Board & Ski’s rented space, which Ignite PI sold to BBS the same day, Bouchard said.
Bouchard runs the store with Mike Chasse, a member of the Maine Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and son of the late co-founder, Tom Chasse.
Staff had talked about expanding for a few years, but the pandemic shed new light on things, Bouchard said. Even though supply chains were turned on their heads, more people explored outdoor pursuits like biking, snowboarding and skiing. The shop sold out of nearly everything they had.
“For us, the COVID years were record years,” he said. “Now, we’re dealing with post-COVID, and people don’t have as much disposable income.”
Bike sales fell a bit after the pandemic, and though they’re rebounding, Bouchard and Chasse felt the time was right to expand into a segment that will average out summer and winter seasons and add more consistency. There’s always a sports season going on, Bouchard said.
The business has now renovated the adjacent 2,000-square-foot space for its team sports addition, creating an entrance into the main store. They’ve also hired two half-time employees to handle the workload.
The division offers everyday athletic apparel as well as gear and uniforms for baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer and more. Brands include Bauer, CCM and Rawlings. The owners plan to serve local school and recreation teams as well as individuals.
The store is also delving into footwear. Since Olympia Sports closed at the mall in 2022, the area hasn’t had a store that specializes in team and athletic footwear, Bouchard said. BBS aims to fill that void with premium brands like New Balance, Brooks, UnderArmor and Hooka.
The store will start out slowly and explore growth based on customer input, he said. When the business adds a product or segment, staff listen to customers to find out what they’re looking for.
Word has started to spread, and the business has already supplied baseball and hockey uniforms to local teams.
BBS is happy to be part of the growing Main Street environment.
“It’s nice seeing fresh, new businesses here. We feel like we’re kind of a cornerstone,” he said. “The community support has been awesome.”
