Video by Alejandra Armstrong, Scotty Bara and Courtney Pedroza
The Velo Bike Shop and Cafe, which recently opened at 828 N. 2nd St., is striving to provide a unique experience and defy the norm of bicycle shops in downtown Phoenix.
Jason Boles, the shop’s owner, is a fifth-generation Arizonan that attended Northern Arizona University. After selling his insurance agencies, he moved on to other ventures. Boles gathered together a group of investors and moved forward with the initiative to open the bike shop.
Boles said he has aspired to open a bike shop for quite some time. He wanted to do it in college, and he wanted to do it while he was in the insurance business.
“This is something I have wanted to do for such a long time,” Boles said. “My dream is to have it be successful, so, you know, we haven’t proven ourselves to be successful yet. We’ve been successful in getting it launched, you know, success will come with time. And hopefully we earn that ability to be successful over time. So, that would be my main dream.”
It wasn’t easy to open the shop though, as it was a long process to find the right location. The hunt for a proper building lasted about two years. However, once Boles and his partners stumbled upon the 2nd Street location, they signed a 15-year lease and opened within seven weeks of finalizing the process, he said.
The shop held its official grand opening on Saturday. They hosted a silent auction and planned to auction $15,000 worth of donated products. All proceeds were to be donated to four charities: three youth cycling programs and One N Ten, a LGBT youth center in Phoenix.
But the new shop had already experienced success prior to the grand opening.
Boles said that during this month’s First Friday, 700 people came through the store. Velo has also met every daily sales goal since its soft opening.
Every cycling manufacturer brought in had to have a women’s component equally as strong as the men’s component, Boles said. Even though a large segment of the cycling industry caters to men, a portion of the bike shop is dedicated to providing products developed specifically for women, he said.
“The biggest focus for me, and for all of us, is just to make this like a very comfortable place … You don’t even have to be into bikes, if you just want to come in and grab a coffee, come in and study a little bit … we got free wifi,” general manager Justin Bush said. “Like, just a place to kill some time in-between class or meet some friends after.”
Customers so far have responded well to Velo’s unique vibe.
“I think it’ll draw like-minded people that really care about their health and the environment and their community that they live in, which is such a big thing in Phoenix right now, being respectful to our community and getting back,” said Heather Zimmer, one of the first people to give a Yelp review of the new bike shop.
The cafe portion of the shop offers an assortment of beverages, including soda or coffee. Boles said they are in the process of obtaining a liquor license, which will let them sell beer and wine.
The Velo team wants to make sure that they’re an integral part of the community by giving back to the community, Boles said. The shop is also the new host of the Phoenix Spokes People meetings. Velo also organizes single speed Phoenix loops on Monday nights, Boles said.
“Cycling should be a social based event, so a quality cycling store or retail location should also be a hub for the community,” Boles said.
Contact the reporter at Coleton.Berry@asu.edu.
