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Franchisees bring Endurance House, A Triathlon Store, to Bradenton

BY MATT M. JOHNSON via Bradenton.com

BRADENTON — A father and son who share a love of racing Ironman triathlons are turning their passion for the sport into a business unique to the Manatee-Sarasota area.

In early January, Dan and Jerry Johnson will open the first Florida franchise location of Endurance House, a triathlon equipment retail chain that got its start in 2007 in Middleton, Wis. Riding the popularity of a sport that is booming on the Gulf Coast, the local Endurance House is designed to be a place that attracts both seasoned triathletes and novices who are learning to combine swimming, bicycling and running into a single competitive discipline.

The Johnsons, including Jerry Johnson’s wife, Amy, are opening their store just as Nathan Benderson Park at University Town Center ramps up its profile as a triathlon and endurance sport venue. Endurance House will be centrally located for the area’s triathletes and competitors. The store is scheduled to take up more than half of a new, 7,500-square foot retail building completed this summer at the Lockwood Commons shopping center at the corner of Lockwood Ridge Road and State Road 70.