When Christopher Weber clocked in to his job as a mechanic at San Francisco’s historic Harley-Davidson dealership at 3146 Mission St. last Saturday morning, he expected a typical work day. But, by closing time, Weber said he and over a dozen co-workers were abruptly let go.
Without warning, the 110-year-old dealership, which had survived two world wars, the Great Depression, and a pandemic, shuttered its doors. Former employees were told Harley-Davidson corporate would take over the location, but corporate headquarters did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The former employees say the trouble started after new management bought the dealership in 2018.
The San Francisco Harley-Davidson — which was not always at the Mission Street location — was founded in 1914 by Dudley Perkins. After being passed along for three generations of Perkins, the dealership was sold in 2018 to two people, including Cliff Chester, who previously owned two other Harley-Davidson dealerships in Idaho and Nevada. Up until then, it had been the world’s longest running family-owned Harley-Davidson dealership.
Things turned a year in, when the dealership moved from South San Francisco to its current location. “Everything was just kind of chaos,” said Carlos Martinez, who had worked at the dealership for 22 years until he was also let go last week.
Harvey-Davidson dealerships are independent businesses licensed to sell Harley-Davidson products. However, they must comply with corporate standards. Many of these protocols weren’t followed by the new management, three employees said. Parts sat in a room, unlabeled. Merchandise was lost. Without a system for organizing invoices or a packing list, orders were left unfilled. Less emphasis was placed on building relationships with customers.
The disorganization began to strip the business of its culture, too. “It became just a dealership,” Martinez said. “That’s not the way Dudley Perkins was … you were part of a family, the motorcycle community.”
The place, which was “like a museum” for Harley-Davidson enthusiasts, seemed like it had been “run into the ground,” Weber added. He saw Chester only once every three to six months; Perkins used to be there every day.
Employees were directed to an independent accounting company, WC Services, LLC, to voice human resources issues. In 2023 and 2024, Weber expressed concerns about theft within the business. “I just don’t want the doors to close at the dealership,” one email concluded. Weber did not receive a response to his most recent email in May.
Two weeks ago, Martinez sent an email to Chester warning him that stolen parts were being sold “on the downlow.” He also did not receive a response.
When reached, former general manager Scott Rawson declined to comment. Neither its co-owner, Chester, nor WC Services responded to requests for comment.
That last day, June 22, workers stayed at the dealership for hours awaiting a staff meeting that had been scheduled for noon, according to Webster and Martinez. All were expecting an update from their boss. But Chester did not show for hours, and workers started getting nervous when they heard from colleagues at other dealerships that their shop might close.
At 6 p.m., no one went home. They were still waiting for Chester to emerge from his office and hold the meeting, Webster and Martinez said.
Finally, he did, and announced that Harley-Davidson corporate would be taking over the dealership. Unemployment papers were distributed. Mechanics silently packed up their tools. One of Weber’s co-workers started crying. “Where do we go now?” Weber remembered asking.
“I have five kids and was a faithful employee for three and a half years there, and this is horrible what they did to us all,” former employee John Via said.
After working for Harley-Davidson for nine years, Weber said he never expected to experience something like this: “There was no preparation. There was no warning. Just abruptly, we had to put all our tools down in the middle of working on customer’s bikes…”
Employees still have not received formal notice about whether the business will re-open or if they will be re-hired. While the San Francisco Harley-Davidson website is still functioning, its phone number immediately goes to voicemail. The smaller retail outlet on Fisherman’s Wharf that was also owned by the franchise also could not be reached.
Martinez hopes to find another job in the motorcycle industry — after over two decades, it’s all he knows. He still remembers fondly what it was like to work for the Perkins family, receiving Harley-Davidson baseball caps in the summer and sweaters for the winter holidays.
Weber also plans to continue working as a mechanic, helping members of the motorcycle community he has admired since he was a kid. “I feel lucky everyday I get to wake up and I get to do what I love,” he said.
Update: This article has been updated to clarify that though the Harley-Davidson dealership was 110 years old, it was not always located on Mission Street.
Stupid ass owners. You have to be a total idiot not to be able to be able to make this location profitable. Obviously they did not know what they were doing. Corporate will come along and right the ship.
Wow, complete turnaround from Dudley Perkins. I remember Mr. Perkins riding with us on some runs. Janet and Chris were great too. The museum they had included a Harley Topper. They had an amazing store in South San Francisco. Great mechanics.
She really sad how somebody could run a good running operation when they bought it into the ground. I’m 60 years old and I remember the name Dudley Perkins from back in the day. My father had a little motorcycle shop in Oakland when I got my first bike I remember going over there to South city which was a really nice shop. Don’t know why they moved it. 110 years idiot operator ran it into the ground from what I hear they own a few more dealerships. Guess they’ll be running them into the ground too they own San Joes so I bought my bike from , hope all the workers find work
UNFNBELIEVE ABLE!!! WTF?
Over 40 years ago I purchased 4 t-shirts from Dudley Perkins Harley Davidson.
I wore them till they were tattered, faded and unreadable.
Nothing is forever.