Two weeks ago, the vacant Pine Street building that once housed See See Motor Coffee Co. reopened with two local businesses sharing the space. Nick Pennetti is the manager at The Dropout Bike Shop, which moved from its original Virginia Street location and now occupies 131 Pine St. alongside a new Hub Coffee Roasters shop.
So, why the move?
This location, I think, was the culmination of the owner Mark [Trujillo] of the Hub and the owner of Dropout, Chad [Kortan]. They’ve always been friends and they’ve always wanted to, kind of, get together with something. And I think the location up there was nice because it brought us closer together, but it wasn’t really the ideal situation. Chad had previously worked at a place where coffee and bikes were together under one roof, and I think that was kind of the idea here—to just get a communal space where everything can be shared. There’s bike stuff here, coffee stuff on the wall. It’s fully integrated, but still two separate businesses, which, I think, is a good motto for nowadays. I feel like a lot of bike shops have a hard time staying alive in the slower season. This might help a little bit.
I always thought “dropout” implied a connection to the university.
It’s funny because everybody asks that. There’s two meanings. So, a dropout is actually the part on a bicycle where the wheels go in. So, not only is it that, but also, you know, across from a college. I can never get a straight answer out of Chad as to why. As far as that goes, I think it’s going to be a good move coming down here. We’re not near the university, but we’re less than a mile away, and they’re going to be putting in a bike lane coming right down Center Street. So I don’t think it’s gonna hurt us moving.
The Hub has always been bike-friendly. Is the idea that this is going to the cyclists’ coffee shop?
I think they’re going to make that decision, but it’d be nice to see the cycling community kind of, like, you know, take on this shop slash coffee shop as the place to go to. I think it’s convenient. So, I think it’s going to happen. You know, I think it’s a good place to meet up before rides, finish a ride, maybe stop to warm up or cool down on your ride. And eventually they’re going to be serving beer as well, I think. You get your coffee, go on around, you get your beer when you’re done. It just makes sense. Plus it’s really nice, you know, people come in for quick service, they can get a cup of coffee and hang out.
Is Reno a pretty big cycling town in your experience?
I guess it is. I think it is. I think that it’s getting away from the casinos and everything, and it’s becoming more of an outdoor town. We recently just got a bike park out west, Sierra Vista Bike Park, which is really nice. It’s a good place for the community to come together. They have everything for little kids on Striders to, you know, adults on huge bikes doing huge jumps. So, it’s really nice. It’s diverse. We have a lot of trails. You can ride spring, summer, fall—you can commute. We’re getting better. I think it’s becoming more popular.