The Velo is a new downtown spot for bikes and coffee

The downtown Phoenix core is filled with bikes and bike lanes, but seems to be lacking in bike shops.

The area between Seventh Street and Seventh Avenue and Interstate 10 and Jefferson Street has gone without a bike shop since the closure of PHX Bike about a year ago.

Now, Phoenix has a new full service bicycle shop, the Velo Bike Shop and Café, which opened about two months ago. The shop is doing things a bit differently than just being a place for a quick repair or tune up.

The Velo has been hosting Sunday morning group rides, participating in First Friday and serving locally brewed coffee, said Justin Bush, the Velo's general manager.

The Velo, French for bicycle, set up shop on Garfield and Second streets in a renovated house, which has been home to many businesses in the past such as a yoga studio and a church that doubled as a coffee shop.

Being only a block away from Roosevelt Row has made the Velo not just a bike shop, but a member of the arts community. The owner, Jason Boles, wanted an art theme from the very beginning.

As well as being a bike shop and coffee bar, The Velo triples as a local art gallery. Boles has local artists display their art and he doesn't take a percentage when a piece on display is purchased.

"At the end of the day we're near Roosevelt Row and we knew art had to be a part of the experience," Boles said.

Even the building is well decorated and looks like another piece of the arts community. There is a Velo mural and a metal sculpture out front and Boles plans to commission local artists for two more murals.

Of course, the Velo isn't immune to the problem downtown Phoenix businesses tend to have where there aren't many people walking in. Bush said the weekdays are significantly slower than the busy weekends.

The coffee shop helps out. In the mornings, people come in just for coffee, Bush said, but they end up exploring the shop too over a fresh cup of pressed coffee.

Since the Velo has opened, Boles and his team have seen a variety of customers. Arizona State University students, commuters and plain old cyclist enthusiasts have come into the shop for service or to purchase a bike, Boles said.

In an area filled with ASU students, one asks the questions as to whether they're good customers. There is the ASU Bike co-op within the Sun Devil Fitness Complex where students can get bicycle maintenance for free and parts at a discount.

"(The co-op) is to make it easier for students to promote green commuting," Jessica Gracia, Bike co-op supervisor and ASU dietetics major.

Gracia fixes students' bikes, but is not a trained mechanic. Everything she knows she has learned on her own by repairing her own bike, Gracia said. The co-op is right on campus, making it convenient for students, but if Gracia doesn't know how to make the repair she refers them to a local bike shop.

Bush thinks the co-op at ASU is a great program. At the Velo, though, they have certified mechanics equipped with all the tools to fix a bike on the spot. And if they can't, the Velo can order the part within a couple of days.

Through the Velo, Boles wants to become a voice of bicycle advocacy in Phoenix and a place for cyclists to just hang out.

To be a proper member of the community, Boles would not rent out bicycles from his shop so the Velo would not detract customers away from the bike sharing program Grid Bikes.

"First and foremost we're always here to make money," he said. "But our main mission is to be good community partners."

Boles said the Velo has to earn the right to have people come to its location.

The Velo and its team seems to be doing that, by offering a different experience beyond bike mechanics just fixing a bike, making small talk and then sending the customer on their way.