Bike shops: The new Starbucks? | MarketWatch

Steve Remich

Will Levandowski and Cecie Levandowski study at the Denver Bicycle Cafe on Aug. 24, 2013. Denver Bicycle Cafe opened in 2011 and combines a cafe and bar with a full service bike repair shop.

At CamRock Café and Sport, in Cambridge, Wis., patrons can rent a mountain bike, get their brakes adjusted or load up on cycling accessories. Or they can nibble crepes and attend an art opening.

Before CamRock opened last year, avid road-bikers Mark and Vicki Sewell, husband and wife, typically headed to Madison, the state capital, for entertainment. Now, Mark, a 55-year-old attorney, and Vicki, a retired schoolteacher, make a weekly pilgrimage to CamRock, in the heart of Wisconsin’s dairy country, for yoga, spin classes and a post-class glass of wine—all while getting their bikes tuned up. They also like CamRock’s concerts (which range from string-quartet to steel drumming) and even spent New Year’s Eve there, when a guest chef whipped up cioppino in the cafe fireplace. It may not offer the lowest repair prices, says Mark, but he won’t go anywhere else, since “it’s your general store for cool stuff.”

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