To the Editor:

July 2017 marks the 45th anniversary of establishing The Tread Mill, formerly Ted’s Firestone Service. The purpose of this letter is to inform all my customers that I will be in business, with regular hours until a minimum of Oct. 1, 2017. At that time I will decide whether to continue into 2018.

This has been a year without a spring and summer isn’t starting well. I continue to bring in new inventory at greatly reduced pricing, but I cannot overcome the weather or our local economy.

It breaks my heart to see downtown Potsdam as a former retail destination and now a village that is a pass-through for interstate and international trucking.

Is my business for sale? Difficult question, because I cannot see much profitability when the selling season is barely six months long. I will be working on a plan for a home occupation operation for repair only.

A supplier gave me a harsh statistic this spring. One bicycle shop a day closes in the USA. We have gone from over 9,000 stores to less than 4,000 in 20 years.

My continued thanks go out to all my customers, past and present. Stop by and say hello. Goodbyes can wait.

Ted Prahl

Potsdam