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Bike shop owner has become a staple of community
Mark Wilson reports
TAMPA, Fla. - Manny Mirabal is still meticulous in checking the bikes in his shop after more than 44 years.
It's personal care that's kept customers coming back to his business, University Bicycle Center in Tampa, for decades.
"I'm 80. I'm only 80. Oldest bicycle mechanic in Tampa. This is also the oldest bike shop in Tampa now. I bought the business April 12, 1979," shared Mirabal.
Manny Mirabal is the oldest bicycle mechanic in Tampa.
His journey to where he is now didn't start by bike but by plane. He was 6-years-old when his family moved from Cuba to Florida.
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"One of the reasons my parents left Cuba back in 1949, because the economic situation was very, pretty dire. You know, they were very poor. A lot of poverty," said Mirabal.
He sought the American dream.
After serving in the Marines, he saw the Tampa bike shop as an opportunity.
University Bicycle Center opened in 1979.
"I decided I'd like to try my hand at a small business. I figured a bike shop would be the way to start. It was small. It was very small. It was 850 square feet. And I thought I could, you know, learn as I went along, you know, and I just bought it," recalled Mirabal.
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That small bike shop has grown and evolved quite a bit since 1979.
Mirabal has added more merchandise and electric bikes are now in the mix. He gets to work with his family.
University Bicycle Center is in Tampa.
"My three children have worked here with me and now a third generation, grandkids," said Mirabal.
And he's still enjoying the ride.
"I don't want to retire. I want to keep going as long as I feel like working," shared Mirabal.
For more information about University Bicycle Center, click here.