Amagansett Beach and Bicycle has changed hands.
Andrew and Susan Silver of East Hampton and New York City have officially acquired the sales, rental, and repair shop at 1 Cross Highway from Lee and Barbara Oldak, who announced their retirement earlier this year after three decades in business.
“We have been part-time residents for a long time,” Mr. Silver said this week, “and we’re looking to this as our second career.” The couple are retired from corporate careers, he said, having met at the Edelman global communications firm, where Ms. Silver worked for 30 years and Mr. Silver for almost 20. “It just came time where we were both at the end of that phase,” he said, “and have wanted to be out in the area much more.”
Bicycles and cycling “are a big passion of mine,” Mr. Silver said, “and I had stopped in to that store back in the spring and began a conversation with Lee and Barbara about working there. One thing led to another: I discovered they were trying to sell, and after working a month or so we began to seriously consider it.”
The shop started as “a windsurf shop,” Mr. Oldak told The Star early in the summer, and moved into bicycles when friends started seeking mountain bikes. Today, the shop offers traditional bicycles and e-bikes as well as kayaks, paddleboards, wetsuits, and activewear. Bike rentals are a big part of the business.
The Oldaks had planned to close on Sept. 30 unless a buyer was found before that date. Mr. Silver said that the shop will now remain open until the end of October, and then reopen for the 2026 season in April. “I was not interested in retiring full time,” he said. “I
was looking for something new to do, and wanted to marry my passion for biking with a desire to have deeper ties to the community here.”
“One thing we discovered this summer as we began working with them,” he said of the Oldaks, “is that the shop is beloved by the community. People really love this place. It’s an institution and an icon, and we want to keep that going. While we may embark on a bit of a refresh, we are not going to fundamentally change the nature of the place.”
The shop’s two mechanics will remain with the business, Mr. Silver said, “and then next spring we will be actively seeking some more help.”
A storewide sale started in July. “We have been calling it a retirement sale for previous owners,” Mr. Silver said, “so we do have some items on sale as we close out the season. We welcome the customers to come in and meet us.”