By Brandon Bennett
STURGIS—The October Mixer for the Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Bureau was at Bandit’s Emporium at 1008 Main Street October 8th.
Owners Keith and Allison Ball operate an antique store and art gallery.
Plus the location is the headquarters for Easyriders Magazine.
In addition friend Anne Ames has Dakota Annie Jewelry and artist Danial James has his works on display as does Jeri Kane with metal art.
Ball knew exactly what he wanted to do with the building once he bought it.
“Once I bought the building my friends asked me what I was going to do with it. I said put my stuff in it. So my wife and I turned it into an antique store and we have a library to display my books,” he said.
Ball, by the way, is a published author.
He talked with us a little about how he came to own Easyriders Magazine.
“The magazine had been published for 55 years. And it struggled and the previous owner Joe Teresi tried to sell it several times and every time he tried to sell it would end up back in his lap.
Keith tried to help Ellen Teresi find interested parties to buy the magazine.
Ball himself had worked for Easyriders Magazine from 1971 to 1981 and again from 1987 to 1999.
Ball wants to keep the print version of the magazine alive and so prints bi-monthly, changed the subscription model but the focus in 2027 will be social media and a YouTube channel which will require some retooling.
Hours of operation are whenever they feel like it and you can try to catch Keith at 619-957-7565.
