Corey Adams and Gregory Doda were just as surprised by the news that their longtime employer, Princeton Sports, was closing after 89 years as its customers were.

Amid the shock in January, they said they also quickly realized that the closure of the popular bicycle, ski and outdoor gear store would create a void in Baltimore.

“We either do this on our own or we’re out of the industry, essentially,” Doda said.

The duo got to work and last month opened a similar but smaller store, Peak Bicycle and Ski Service.

Located at 6247 Falls Rd., it’s just behind their former workplace.

A longtime cyclist, Adams, 51, spent 34 years at Princeton Sports repairing bikes and skis. For Doda, 37, Princeton was where his passion for bikes and bike repair turned into a 17-year professional endeavor.

Peak Bicycle and Ski is a team of four, all of them former employees of Princeton; Drew Lamond and Robin Fowlkes joined Adams and Doda’s operation and have a small stake in the business.

Lamond, who is also an audio engineer, works on ski repairs as he did during his time at Princeton. Starting Peak Bicycle and Ski was a “no-brainer,” he said.

Despite being only a few hundred feet behind the former location of Princeton Sports, Adams and Doda said the business isn’t a carbon copy.

“I think we both always dreamt of having our own shop, so it’s like the opportunity was there and we had to take advantage of it,” Adams said.

Unlike its predecessor, you won’t find outdoor attire or sporting goods in their 1,350-square-foot shop. Adams and Doda watched interest in jackets and hats decline over the years as online shopping became more popular.

The business partners want to become a destination for pre-owned bicycles, as well as a go-to for bicycle and ski repair and ski rentals.

“With all of the online purchasing, we wanted to focus on high-end service,” Doda said. “That’s the goal here. To be service-focused and less retail-based.”

Adams and Doda are still in touch with the former owners of Princeton, Alan and Paul Davis.

The brothers took over the family-owned business after their father, Sonny Davis, died in 2022. They closed the business in February, saying they were ready to retire.

Alan and Paul Davis are mentoring Adams and Doda. Alan Davis said in an email that Peak Bicycle and Ski is “really exciting.”

Peak Bicycle and Ski moved into and converted the former office space of the Maryland Wine Commission, the Maryland Distillers Guild and the Brewers Association of Maryland.

They passed the location for years, never noticing it until they were ready to start their own shop. The store is slightly tucked away behind the busy stretch of Falls Road that connects Baltimore County and the city.

Katherine Crosby, owner and lead designer of Crosby Jenkins, a Baltimore interior design firm, purchased the 1-acre lot once owned and occupied by Princeton Sports for $4.2 million in June.

Adams and Doda are looking forward to settling into their current location. They’ve retrofitted the building for heavy ski repair equipment and transformed the front of the store to fit ski rentals as the season begins.

Adult and children’s skis are available for rental until April 2026.

Peak Bicycle and Ski already has familiar customers: They’ve absorbed from Princeton Sports established relationships with the Johns Hopkins University and Baltimore City police departments for bike repairs.

“You can look at the quality of service that Princeton has provided for all these years, and we’re going to continue doing that,” Adams said.