By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com
It was five weeks ago that Fritz’s Bridgeport Harley-Davidson filed for Chaper 11 bankruptcy protection in hopes of getting the business back on sound financial footing, but it now appears that the Harley franchise in Stratford is up for grabs.
In filing in U.S.Bankruptcy Court in Bridgeport on Jan. 10, dealership owner Fritz Blau III listed debt of between $1 million and $10 million and assets of the same, according to the “Connecticut Post.” The biggest creditors were JPMorgan Chase, which was owed $315,000, and GE Capital with $240,00.
Blau presented an optimistic face in the Jan. 21 newspaper article. “We’re ready to rebuild,” he said. A hearing on the case was scheduled for the following week. Since then, nothing has appeared in the local newspaper, but another motorcycle dealer tells RIDE-CT that the court ordered Blau to liquidate the business and that it has closed for good.
RIDE-CT attempted to reach someone from Fritz’s Bridgeport Harley-Davidson yesterday. No one answered and a phone message stated, “We are temporarily closed for reorganization.”
What seems apparent is that a Harley franchise along the shoreline in Fairfield County is available, and at least two existing H-D dealers in Connecticut are reportedly angling to step in with a new store. What isn’t clear is whether Fritz’s can still be acquired as a complete entity or whether any interested party will have to seek a new franchise from Harley.
In response to an email inquiry from RIDE-CT, Harley spokesman Mike Morgan said, “We’re checking into this,” which suggests that H-D is just as unclear of the situation here at the moment as RIDE-CT.
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Erik Buell is back and Harley-Davidson of Danbury wants his new EBR 1190RS superbikes, and the remodeling continues at Gengras. Those stories and more tomorrow in RIDE-CT in “The Republican-American.”