It used to be known as City Market, but soon 52 Monroe Center NW in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids will become Central District Cyclery, an urban bike haven that's a longtime dream of mountain bike enthusiast Nate Phelps.
Phelps is the director of advocacy and a past president of the Michigan Mountain Bike Association, and VP of its local chapter the West Michigan Mountain Bike Alliance. He was also one of the driving forces behind the development of the Grand Rapids Bike Park, a mountain bike course with connecting trails at 580 Kirtland SW.
The 3,100-square-foot shop will feature a showroom for bikes, clothing and shoes; a maintenance area for bike repairs; bike storage for urbanites who need it; and a rental option for people who don't own bikes. The shop will also offer organized group rides, and pickup and delivery services for bike repairs.
"We're catering to the urban cyclist who wants to do road rides after work," Phelps says. "We're really reaching out to create an urban market, and feel that within a three-mile radius, we have a potential clientele of 200,000 people who live and/or work downtown."
Phelps plans to open the shop by March 1, and plans to offer brands that include West Michigan bike maker
616 Bicycle Fabrication,
Traitor Cycles,
Linus Bikes,
Gore Bike Wear,
Club Ride Apparel,
Izip and
Sidi bike shoes.
Phelps, an inventory manager for local greeting card company
Design Design, will leave his job to focus full time on the bike shop when it opens.
"I've thought about opening a shop for years, and have been looking for a location for the past couple of years," he says. "I think this is a winning location. I really love Grand Rapids and want to participate personally in the re-growth and revitalization of the downtown area."
Source: Nate Phelps, Central District Cyclery
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
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