By Stephen Baldwin
RealWV, www.therealwv.com
John Hirt is no stranger to development projects.
“I like building things,” he said in an interview with RealWV this week. “I’ve always been interested in taking old buildings and creating something new in them.”
By trade, he’s an engineer and an investment banker who makes his home in Memphis, Tennessee. But he also spends a great deal of his time, energy, and resources in the Greenbrier Valley.
Over the years, he’s begun multiple businesses in Lewisburg including Stella’s Teahouse, The Livery Tavern, Lee Street Studios, and Greenbrier Classic Cars. Now, he’s turning his attention to Ronceverte.
“Ronceverte has it going on,” he says, as he looks out over the town from the entryway of his newest project. “You have the draw of the Greenbrier River, the railroad tricks, the train depot, and Edgar Avenue here with shops which you can shut down and do some fun things with.”
His latest project in Ronceverte is meant to provide a fun shop that will be unique in its offerings. Located beside The Sportsman Tavern on Edgar Avenue, the four-story building will sell vintage motorcycles, include a repair shop in the back, and sell retail items including vintage motorcycle accessories, clothing, and activewear.
“You’ll find guys of a certain age who once rode bikes,” he explains. “They evoke a lot of memories of their teens or 20s. A lot of nostalgia.”
That’s true for Hirt as well, “I had a motorcycle because it was the only thing I could afford. My mom hated it. But I loved it!”
“I have 40-50 vintage bikes – BSAs, Nortons, Triumphs from the 60s and 70s, old Hondas – up in my other shop (Greenbrier Classic Cars located in 219 North in Lewisburg),” he said. “Those were the bikes I fell in love with. We thought this would be a great place to do a motorcycle shop, some repairs, and the guys activewear – jackets, shirts, gloves. Give guys some options.”
Hirt’s wife owned and operated The Front Porch, a retail space in downtown Lewisburg for a number of years. He sold some men’s activewear there, and says it’s still needed in the area.
“Guys only have two options – Walmart or The Greenbrier,” he said. “They’re not gonna pay for an overpriced Peter Millar. We just want to provide some good, solid options with some lines I’ve carried that were successful.”
Eddie Counts is Hirt’s partner at Greenbrier Classic Cars, and he says they already have most of the merchandise for the store – the bikes, accessories, vintage helmets, and several thousand 1/6th scale model cars. “There are four floors in here, but we’ve only worked on two,” Counts said. “We will start out with everything on the first floor and go from there if needed.”
Hirt says the building itself is a treasure.
“This building is really well constructed,” he said. “It’s a steel superstructure on columns. Overbuilt. Structurally it’s very sound. The roof which is typically problematic for the style it is was fairly dry. Those were all good things.”
He hopes to have the doors open in May, and is grateful for support from local leaders in Ronceverte.
“Ronceverte is ready for some fun things to do,” he told RealWV. “The council and the mayor have been very helpful. There are some other projects we’re looking at right now too.”
Mayor Deena Pack echoed those sentiments. “On behalf of the city, I am so excited to welcome Mr. Hirt to Ronceverte. We look forward to watching his business thrive!”
“There’s a natural draw here you don’t find anywhere else,” Hirt says of Ronceverte. “This doesn’t have to help me. If it helps this community and encourages others to invest in Ronceverte, then it’s all worth it.”
