SHARON SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Like so many times before, friends gathered outside Thunder Customs.
Biker Bob Hern said, "We're all here to talk about it."
To talk and remember the shop that stood on Route 20 in Sharon Springs for more than 30 years.
"All of the locals, the bikers, came up here. This was a coffee place. This was a hang out for the village people," the store's former owner Michael Maiorana said.
Tuesday morning, an electrical fire started in a corner of the show room, eventually consuming the entire building.
A bike shop in Sharon Springs is completely destroyed after an early-morning fire ripped through the building Tuesday. Our Mark Repasky reports.
Sharon Springs Fire Chief Greg Baxter said, "It was fully involved, we had mutual aid from Ames Fire Department, Cherry Valley, and Carlisle Fire Department."
Firefighters were able to hold back the blaze for a little while --thanks in part to a firewall that protected the garage.
"We had to wait to get the fire under control before I let anyone get the bikes out," Baxter said.
They had time to pull out ten. All but one show bike that belonged to Bob Hern.
"It's just material. It can be replaced as long as nobody's hurt," Hern said.
As more neighbors pulled up, more memories were shared.
"It's just one of those places that you hate to see go. But we know it's going to come back," Maiorana said.
Owners Jody and Darrell Hotaling bought the store in August.
This was a major setback for the small business owners who also ran an insurance company there.
But they'll bring it back, with the help of many friends.
"I'm in awe. A lot of love and appreciation. I couldn't do it without them," Jody Hotaling said.