After a weekend of flurries, it may seem crazy to open a bike shop, but that's exactly what the crew at Venture North Bike Walk and Coffee quietly did this week.
The shop, at 1830 Glenwood Av., is the first of its kind in north Minneapolis. It sells new and (soon) used bikes, helmets, locks, gear, and pedestrian accessories and has a full repair shop. It also gives local young adults the chance to learn about the retail business and bikes by offering several internships. Pretty soon, it will also be a place to get a cup of coffee when Dogwood Coffee Co. moves into the shop.
The shop received $350,000 from the city, which was a recipient of a federal grant to help support healthy behaviors and reduce city obesity through increased physical activity and improved nutrition.
Retail manager Jacob Flinsch-Garrison said, Venture North's goal is to "give access to safe fitness and exercise and transportation."
Outside of the shop's health goals, its education component also makes it unique. It has nine interns, four in its retail lab training that are learning customer service and other retail skills and five in its bike mechanic training program.
"I hope to train people to be just well-rounded awesome mechanics," said Casey Pavek, service and education manager, about the bike mechanic training
Some work still needs to be done at the shop. The shop opened Monday, but it closed Wednesday and won't reopen until Tuesday, according to its Facebook account. When I checked earlier this week, the flooring still needed to be finished along with the lighting. Work is also being done on the education space in the basement.
Venture North is run by nonprofit Redeemer Center for Life. Steve Brandt reported in May, that Redeemer was part of a team assembled by the Pohlad Family Foundation to compete for the grant money, but that group failed to win a city staff recommendation. "When some North Siders on the council objected, the council decreed a new competition in a move seen as reflecting the foundation's clout," Brandt wrote. Redeemer then assembled a new team.
Venture North is currently asking for donations.
