MEMPHIS, TN (BRAIN) — Victory Bicycle Studio is set to move only three miles from its current home next month, but the new location opens the year-old retailer to a whole new world of possibilities.
Victory leaves its 500-square-foot home, which owners Clark Butcher and Robert Taylor had to rebuild last year when it burned down after less than a month in business, for a new 2,500-square-foot space the duo bought on Broad Avenue, an up-and-coming arts district.
A soft opening is targeted for Oct. 18, with a grand opening to be held about a month later.
Due to the confines of its current space, Victory has operated more like a bike boutique, Butcher said, fitting riders on a small supply of bikes—and sometimes his and Taylor’s own personal Orbeas—and then ordering up appropriately sized models. The extra elbow room on Broad Avenue will now allow the shop to carry more full size runs of models, Butcher said. Its main bike brands are Orbea and Merckx, plus Kona for entry-level mountain bikes and hybrids.
With the added space, Victory will also begin holding morning trainer classes, complete with wattage displays for riders. “You just bring your bike, plug it in and we go from there,” Butcher said.
The new location is also convenient for long test rides: A bike path right in front of the store leads directly to the Greater Memphis Greenline, an 8-mile-long Rails to Trails route.
Taylor and Butcher have been studying up on distinctively designed shops as far away as Australia and Spain for inspiration in laying out their new space. “It’s going to be a very sophisticated, very clean, boutique kind of feel, but with greater volume,” Butcher said.
Amid all the change, Butcher says one thing that will remain constant is Victory’s commitment to service. “We’re not a high-end bike shop; we’re a high-end service shop,” he said. “Whether you’re gonna spend 400 bucks or 12 grand, you’re going to get treated the same way.”
