LISBON, Ohio (WKBN) — It was a busy Saturday in downtown Lisbon, largely in part due to the third annual Hogs and Hot Rods Bike and Car Show, coupled with the grand opening of a business.
Adam Pratt is the owner and operator of Youngstown Cycle and Speed. The 54-year-old company moved from Youngstown into the old Bye and Bye Hardware in Lisbon on Market Street.
“I just fell in love with the town. I looked at this building, I fell in love with it and knew I had to be here,” Pratt said. “My favorite part of this building is the third floor, which is a ballroom — it was an Odd Fellows Hall. I think it’s going to be a social hall eventually.”
Pratt also has plans to put a coffee shop in front, which will be “opening probably in April.”
Meanwhile, people were busy checking out what the shop offers: A little of everything, from customizing cars and motorcycles to fabrication work and custom signs, as Pratt is an artist who does custom pain jobs, airbrushing and pin striping.
Lisbon Mayor Peter Wilson said it’s great for the economy.
“We’re really grateful they came to village to open up shop here,” Wilson said.
Wilson said there are more businesses on the way, too.
“We have a Mexican restaurant coming, and we have a lunch and breakfast bar coming in,” Wilson said. “That’s what we need — downtown Lisbon — we need more things for people. We need more shops, more restaurants. I’m hoping this is the beginning of a wave of new investment in the village.”
In August, Lisbon business owners took their grievances about conflicts between signage and the Architecture and Historical Review Board to the city council. But Pratt said he hasn’t run into any problems so far with the historical building, and that the town has been “absolutely incredible.”
“We’ve tried to keep as much of the original stuff as we could,” Pratt said.
And just outside, Youngstown Cycle and Speed hosted its third annual Hogs and Hot Rods Bike and Car Show, where people were checking out classic cars, bikes — and some tunes.
“It’s a great little town. It has that small-town feeling, but it’s hustle-and-bustle busy all day,” Pratt said.
