Detroit Bikes to open retail space on Capitol Park as its sales grow

Later this week, Detroit Bikes will open its first retail space in a storefront overlooking Capitol Park in downtown Detroit.

"It's an opportunity for us to sell bikes the way we want them to be sold," says Zakary Pashak, founder & CEO of Detroit Bikes.

The Detroit-based startup aims to make the Motor City the home of the classic American commuter bicycle -- a bike whose streamline design employs thinner, smoother tires on larger wheels, a frame made of chromoly steel, and only three speeds.

Detroit Bikes bicycles will be showcased at 1216 Griswold in the ground-floor retail space of The Albert starting on Friday. The store will also serve as a place for Detroit Bikes to tell its story and showcase other local businesses the firm works with.

Pashak moved to Detroit a couple of years ago from Calgary to start Detroit Bikes. He bought a vacant 50,000-square-foot factory on Detroit’s west side and retrofitted it to manufacture the classic American commuter bicycle. The company currently employs 25 people after making 12 hires over the last year, including welders, marketing professionals, and product managers. It’s now looking to hire a couple of welders and a national sales director.

Detroit Bikes sold 1,000 bikes in its first year through bike shops across the U.S. Its bikes can also be found at at a few retail locations in Switzerland and Canada. This year Pashak has loftier sales goals. He brokered a deal with New Belguim Brewing to promote its Fat Tire Amber Ale.

"This year we'll do 4,000 to 5,000 sales," Pashak says. "We already sold 2,500 to New Belgium."

Source: Zakary Pashak, founder & CEO of Detroit Bikes
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.