The Velocity Café and Cyclery debuted St. Louis’ first bicycle shop/café on Saturday with coffee, free samples and a combination of musical artists. The idea behind Velocity Café and Cyclery is to “blend all the best aspects of cycling and café culture.” Biking and coffee, however, are not always linked in people’s minds.
Although the idea of a bicycle shop/café might seem odd at first, the new store’s general manager and co-owner Matthew Roedder says that the idea is in fact picking up speed around the country, thanks to combination café/bike shops started by Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
“[The idea is] immediately not obvious and intuitive. It just seems like cyclists like to drink a lot of coffee. This is a trend growing around the country,” Roedder said.
Roedder, who thought of the project five years ago, owns the shop along with his mother. The location, the corner of Pershing and DeBaliviere, seemed to Roedder like a “really, really perfect location.” Apparently the building’s owners thought so too. When Roedder approached them about renting the space, the owners said that what the neighborhood needed was either a bike shop or a café. They got both.
“It’s a funny thing, but they seem to go together,” Roedder said. “One of the habits of cyclists is café rides.”
Walking into the shop, customers are greeted by vintage bikes interspersed with coffee bags all over the walls, bright, welcoming colors, and a chalkboard menu. Of course, this is the café side. On the other half of the store, the bikes hang from the ceiling for a more practical purpose. Tires and bike pumps garnish the wall. While this dichotomy seems strange, the experience feels about as natural as can be. The bike shop, believe it or not, actually adds to the ambience of the café through the bike decorations. The split between the businesses is definitive due to the change in paint color—a reddish brown for the café and a blue for the bike shop—but still very free flowing due to the lack of any door between the rooms.
What really catches your attention, though, is the menu. Velocity Café and Cyclery describes its menu as “all the sustenance a cyclist could need, from breakfast to dinner.”
The breakfast burrito sits on the menu next to granola for breakfast. Paninis, salads and soup dominate the lunch or dinner menu. And, for the study group working in the café, there are the “sharables”—a hummus plate.
The coffee menu, while nothing special as far as coffee is concerned, is sufficient and relatively cheap. The coffee, which along with the tea is organic, is only $1.75. The taste was also excellent—even to someone who is a pronounced coffee hater. Lattes, Americanos and everything else you could expect from a coffee menu also made an appearance. However, added to the normal coffees were milkshakes and Italian sodas.
Roedder said that his menu comes from the fact that “we’re just really picky.” So picky, in fact, that the shop plans on growing some of its own produce during the summers.
“[There are] so many avenues to develop,” Roedder said. “We’ve never owned our own retail business.”
One of those avenues is music. During the day on Saturday, DJ Gabe Rausch of Dub Kitchen filled the patrons of the café with the mellow sounds of Jamaican music. Saturday evening, local jazz musician Dave Stone performed. Music will, according to Roedder, definitely be an aspect of the café but will not have a regular schedule.
One thing is for sure—Matthew Roedder and mother Susan Gyorog are enthusiastic about their new business. It literally shows in the way they bustle about the shop and talk passionately about their business. And while the combination café and bike shop might not make sense to everyone, they hope it will become a cornerstone in St. Louis.
“With the increase in gas prices and the resulting growth in commuting, the merging of the corner café and bike shop just makes sense. Both serve as community meeting places and we are hoping our shop will help foster cycling in St. Louis.”
http://velocitycafeandcyclery.blogspot.com/
We're also here to help with your bike needs. It's a simple metro trip down to the Debaliviere/Forest Park stop. Need service quick? Call and make an appointment for same day service!
Thanks and we look forward to seeing you.
-Velocity