Chris St. Peter, an attorney and cycling enthusiast, moved to Little Rock this summer from Chicago with little knowledge of the city.
Since arriving, St. Peter discovered "a bicycle culture that is larger than the city's size would suggest," affirming his decision to join business partners in F3 Velo LLC, a venture centered on combining coffee and cycling.
"I was amazed by quality of riding, both the infrastructure and connectivity in the city and then in 10 minutes outside of town you can be riding through Pinnacle Mountain State Park on some of best roads I've been on," said St. Peter, general manager for F3 Velo. "It's a cycling gem."
F3 Velo is an entity formed by Doug Zell and St. Peter with Tony Karklins. Zell is the owner and founder of Chicago's Intelligentsia Coffee. Karklins is co-founder of new bicycle manufacturer HIA Velo of Little Rock, along with Zell. St. Peter also serves as general counsel for HIA Velo.
Intelligentsia has six coffee shop locations in Chicago, three in Los Angeles and one in New York City. It has offices and labs in Chicago, L.A., San Francisco, Atlanta and New York with an eye on growth.
F3 Velo's largest project in Little Rock will be an 11,000-square-foot mixed-use space at 1509 Rebsamen Park Road in Riverdale. Plans call for coffee, alcohol and food to be served in a portion of the building, while cyclists will train and test in other portions of the facility.
Customers will be able to enjoy their food and beverage while looking into an area where part of the HIA Velo bicycle manufacturing process is taking place. HIA Velo incorporated in Arkansas in March and will begin selling its American-made bicycles in spring 2017.
"It's like a brew pub for bikes. You can observe the finish out or part of the manufacturing process," St. Peter said. "You'll be submerged in bike culture. It's something we've never experienced in the bicycle industry."
Partners purchased the building, formerly Marshall Clements, in September for $850,000. A spring opening is planned.
Also planned for spring is a remodel of Spokes Little Rock, the bicycle shop at 1001 Kavanaugh Blvd. F3 Velo is now a partner in the business founded by Mat Seelinger.
When Seelinger opened Spokes in January 2011 his plan was to blend a coffee shop with his bicycle retail business.
Since opening nearly six years ago, patrons have been able to sip coffee at a small bar surrounded by about 4,000 square feet of space in Hillcrest. While it's been a nice feature for the shop Seelinger said he's always known there was room for improvement.
A planned renovation of the shop with F3 Velo LLC will allow Spokes to come closer to reaching Seelinger's original vision. Spokes will be an incubator for what F3 Velo partners describe as pushing "the boundaries of bicycle and coffee culture."
"I've always felt like it was a great mix, I just didn't personally have the knowledge of the coffee side," Seelinger said. "A coffee shop is much more casual, there's conversation and it sets you at ease when you walk in the door. We now have a partner extremely well-known for the expertise."
About 1,500 square feet of space will be devoted to the coffee bar at Spokes. Outdoor seating added at the cafe will operate even when the retail business closes each night.
Spokes also is opening a Giant Bicycles store in the Pleasant Ridge Shopping Center in west Little Rock. Renovations began on that space last week and it is scheduled to open in mid-November.
St. Peter said total cost of the upgrades for the projects is unclear. He said the budget will be "inspired and uncompromising."
If you have a tip, call Chris Bahn at (501) 378-3518 or email him at cbahn@arkansasonline.com
SundayMonday Business on 10/09/2016