The History of Dunbars

In the mid 1940's, Paul Dunbar decided to leave his job with DuPont and start his own business. His wife worked with a lady whose husband owned a bike shop. Paul went to work with him for about a year and then took over the business. Dunbar's Cyclery, at 908 French Street in Wilmington, was born. Paul kept the store on French Street from 1946 until 1965, then moved it to 801 Philadelphia Pike, where it currently stands. When Paul's son Skip finished college, he decided he wanted to join his father in the family business, so they decided to build their own store. Together Paul, Skip and Rich Schoonmaker designed the building and built the High Wheeler that hangs on the building today. They moved into the store at the begin- ning of 1976. The grand opening was Paul's birthday, May 3rd 1976. And Dunbar's still stands today, at 801 Philadelphia, as Wilmington's oldest cyclery.

Dunbar's has three members of its core staff, each which have been with Dunbar's for more than 30 years. Skip Dunbar, as mentioned previously, has been on the staff since about 1973. Rich Schoonmaker, who has worked at Dunbar's longer than Skip, started around 1968. And Wendy, Skip's sister, started in the Summer of 1977. All three are still here...