Law Allows Store to Sell Motorcylces on Sundays

As of April, the Atlantic County Harley Davidson store in Galloway Township is open for business. That’s seven days a week. All year long.

Of course, the shop owned by Ben and Brenda Petrovic has been open for business since 1990, but for about half the year, it was closed on Sundays.

After all, there was no reason to be open. The state’s blue laws prohibited the sales of recreational vehicles, including motorcycles, on Sundays.

However, a bill recently signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie in the beginning of March now makes the purchase of motorcycles on Sundays a reality.

Other vehicles are still banned from being sold on that day.

For the state of New Jersey, that means an escalation in revenues, as potential customers that would previously have fled the state for Delaware to make their purchases on Sundays no longer have to do so.

For Galloway’s Harley Davidson store, that means an increase in jobs. According to Ben Petrovic, the store has been able to create four additional jobs and bump some part-time workers up to full-time.

For bike riders, it means they won't have to make a hurried decision on Saturday or wait until Monday to make their eagerly anticipated purchase.

“We’ve been working for years to get that changed,” Ben Petrovic said. “This governor realized it would mean more money and more revenue for the state.”

Petrovic said the store has been opened on Sundays from May into September. Once the Atlantic City Harley Davidson store closed last summer, some customers seeking merchandise, such as T-shirts, baby clothes and toys, would patron their store.

There was, of course, one thing missing.

“People would come in and look, and then come back Monday morning,” Petrovic said. “We could talk. We could show them around. But we couldn’t discuss prices. People could come in for parts, rentals and shirts on Sundays, but it was not one of our better days.”

The store will open on Sundays permanently on April 3, and it will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The rest of the week, the store is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Friday; and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday.

During the summer months, business is extended by one hour.