Once a small business becomes a chain, it's hard to maintain the same level of service because the management oversight that resulted in the quality service in the first place doesn't scale. The owner can't monitor all of the stores.

There are lots of bike shops in the twin cities of all different sizes and styles. Just about anyone should be able to find at least one. Some of my favorites are Grand Performance, Freewheel, Hub co-op, One-on-one, and Flanders. I've been to several other good ones whose names don't immediately come to mind.