Wheel Sport Bicycle plans to add a cafe space in May to its South Hill store, at 3020 S. Grand Boulevard.

“We’ve noticed it’s common for bike shops in other cities to offer a cafe space, and we wanted to try something similar here,” says Sarah Neupert, who owns Wheel Sport with her husband, Mark, and Nick Salisbury. “We feel spaces like these really help build and support the cycling community.” 

The Neuperts and Salisbury purchased Wheel Sport from Terry Solinsky last May.

Wheel Sport operates two other stores in addition to its South Hill space; one at 606 N. Sullivan Road, in Spokane Valley, and another at 1711 N. Division, north of downtown Spokane.

Mark Neupert says each location currently has about seven employees, and the South Hill store likely will hire two or three more to operate the new cafe space.

Neupert says the South Hill store has a total of about 4,500 square feet of space, 700 of which is being developed into the new cafe section.

He says Spokane architect Paul Harrington, of South Henry Studios, designed the new space, and Spokane-based Raney Construction Co. is handling construction.  The same architect and contractor also worked together on what will be the fourth Wheel Sport location, a 3,200-square-foot store planned at 9501 N. Newport Highway, just past the Division Y.

“We plan to open the new North Side store in early May, around the same time we debut the new cafe space at the South Hill location,” says Mark Neupert. “The first cafe space will be a test of how this concept works, and if all goes well, we might consider adding them to all our locations.”

The couple say the cafe space will feature a limited menu to start that will offer a mix of healthy lifestyle foods and locally sourced baked goods, as well as beer and bar snacks.