Since 1906, Stewart’s Bikes, Sports and Trophies has been a staple around, and later on, Superior Street in Duluth.

Just a mere 118 years later, the store is under new ownership for just the second time ever. The new man in charge? A Duluth native, Steven Holappa.

“I started on the outdoor rinks at Glen Avon, continued playing hockey through high school, and I played for Duluth East. I played soccer and golf through high school as well. I started working at Play It Again Sports, I was there for a long, long time and then an opportunity came and so I purchased Stewart’s.”

The former Duluth East Greyhound grew up around hockey, and even coming into Stewart’s. Perhaps the most full circle moment for him was purchasing the store from his old hockey coach.

But with Holappa’s playing days behind him, the future of Northland hockey is what he’s most looking forward to having his hand in.

“Seeing all these little kids and they don’t even want to take the gear off but parents think they need to so that we can scan it through the system, you know, I don’t want the kids to take it off if they don’t want to. If they want to wear it out and wear at home that’s up to the parents, but the best part of the day is when a first year kid throws on the gear, and he just can’t stop running around the store.”

The future of shopping is changing every day, with the increase in online purchases. But, with a loyal community to support a local staple, the future of Stewart’s is just getting brighter.

“I’m very optimistic,” said Holappa. “I know online purchasing has become a big thing but when it comes to the hockey community or even the bike community, people want to see the product, they want to test the product, try the product on. A small, locally owned shop in a great community like Duluth, I think it can only go up from here.”