I managed to get to Velo Cult Tuesday (it was closed Monday). I found the sale somewhat disappointing. Somewhat like bike co-op rejects... with so much stuff laid out being broken or non-functional. Perhaps I was just late, and someone else had already cherry-picked the cherry parts.
There was, however, a big box of frame pumps that looked interesting, but I'm not using those now. One could probably snag a few parts from some Silica pumps.
While there, I overheard a bit of a conversation about ordinance issues.
- Lack of a sprinkler system. I'm not quite sure where that is coming from, but I would imagine it is tied to the basement with a lack of egress, although perhaps an occupancy issue. Not a big deal if there are 10 bike shop customers, but potentially an issue if there are 100. Still, it would seem like one should be able to install sprinklers for less than a month's rent.
- The BAR. My guess this is the biggest issue.
During the day, the shop has the feel of a bike shop, and allows access to kids and adults of all ages.
However, during the "events", it has more of a bar feel. It doesn't really seem to be an issue, but my guess is that someone decided that it should be an over 21 establishment.
So, melding an over 21 establishment with an all ages establishment surely leads to a crash.
And, the design merges the two, so neither bike shop or bar can support itself without the other half.