Pacific Northwest - Il Vecchio bike shop - Seattle - now closed

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BengeBoy
10-04-09, 08:49 PM
Il Vecchio, along the lake front in Seattle's Leschi neighborhood, is now closed.

I understand that they had a final exhibit of French constructeur bikes (Rene Herse and Alex Singer) about 10 days ago and then closed.

http://www.ilvecchio.com/

Based on the Yelp reviews, some people found it too "boutique-y." But I always thought it was super - you could wander in, look at all the cool bikes on display, and linger to your heart's content. The owner (George) was behind the counter if you needed help or wanted to chat. He has a very deep knowledge of classic bikes.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/il-vecchio-bicycles-seattle

I'll miss the shop - was always a nice place to stop during a ride along Lake Washington.


Here is a Flickr gallery I found of the final display, "The Art of the Constructeur Bicycle," which I think was put together by Jan Heine, editor of Bicycle Quarterly:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30684316@N08/sets/72157622462401560/

northbend
10-04-09, 08:57 PM
Yea, I passed by there today - sad to see it gone, not another shop quite like it in Seattle that I know of...
I took a long lunch Sept 25 and drove over there to oogle the bikes. I ended up buying a nitto rando bar and wished George well in his retirement.

Steve, I was a nice suprise seeing you while riding across the I90 bridge today. Perfect day wasn't it?
BengeBoy
10-04-09, 11:00 PM
Steve, I was a nice suprise seeing you while riding across the I90 bridge today. Perfect day wasn't it?

Great day, a little breezy, but hard to complain.

I stopped into Elliott Bay Bikes and chatted w/Bill Davidson a bit while they replaced the decal on my Davidson (which I stupidly ruined while cleaning my bike), then rode up to Fremont, over to the UW, and then through the park to Leschi and home.

SeattleShaun
10-05-09, 02:46 AM
I guess impressions differ.

I stopped into Il Vecchio a few times. I found the owner to be disinterested at best and intentionally rude once. The time he was needlessly rude, I was looking over a landshark frame and was seriously considering obtaining one.

I did stop in one last time to show him the custom titanium frame I purchased instead of the landshark...