DeKALB – Pierce Harley-Davidson will be in business in 2012 after all, co-owner Marylou Pierce Smith said, but it won’t be named Pierce Harley-Davidson.

The Daily Chronicle reported Thursday that the motorcycle dealership at 969 Peace Road in DeKalb was closing after nearly 54 years of business when a store employee said the store was closing for good Saturday. Pierce Smith and the store’s other co-owner, Eleanor Pierce, declined to comment Thursday.

But on Friday, Pierce Smith said the employee misunderstood; the shop is not closing, she said. It is being sold. Pierce Smith said she and Pierce were “retiring.”

“And we know we’ll be here until [the sale] comes through,” Pierce Smith said.

Pierce Smith said a buyer is lined up but could not comment on specifics until everything is approved by them, the buyer and Harley-Davidson corporate.