St. Helena Cyclery was closed for just over three weeks as it changed hands between a bicycle manufacturer and longtime owner Jake Scheideman, who sold the business just over two years ago.
Scheideman sold the 45-year-old business to Trek in 2022 along with Napa Valley Vello (now Trek Bicycle Napa), a store he opened in February 2017.
When Trek announced on June 20 that it would close St. Helena Cyclery and consolidate the business at its 145 Gasser Drive location in Napa, Scheideman saw it as an opportunity to revive the business and keep it in the community. The St. Helena store closed on July 7.
“I called them and asked if they would be interested in an offer to keep the assets here and they were open to it,” Scheideman said. “It was a surprise for both sides.”
Scheideman bought the store’s assets and inventory. Trek helped him get the computer systems and other infrastructure back up and running. The store reopened on August 1.
St. Helena Cyclery was founded in 1979 and moved to several locations before finding its current location at 1156 Main St. Scheideman purchased it in 1991 at the age of 22.
The store will continue to be a Trek dealer, but will also carry a few other high-end brands. Road bikes will be Pinarello, but the brand of high-end mountain bikes has yet to be decided.
The reopening timing coincides with the upcoming completion of the Calistoga-St. Helena section of the Napa Valley Vine Trail, a 47-mile pedestrian and bike path connecting Calistoga to the Vallejo ferry terminal, scheduled for completion later this month.
Scheideman, who has been involved in the Vine Trail project since its inception over a decade ago, sees the new trail as a boon to his business and the local community.
“A lot of people talk about it from a rental company or tourist perspective, but my own clients here who are no longer riding on the road for fear of traffic are just excited and can’t wait to use the trail themselves,” Scheideman said.
The bike shop owner noted that conditions in the industry have changed dramatically since he sold his business in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was super hard to get things. The bikes were just flying out the door as fast as we could buy them and build them. It was a pretty crazy time,” he said. “And then I sold, and then the whiplash effect of COVID hit the bike industry pretty hard.”
Despite the challenges, Scheideman is optimistic about the store’s future.
“The community has been incredible,” he said. “I can’t imagine how difficult it would be if I had to start from scratch with no prior knowledge, because it’s hard enough as it is, let alone knowing nothing at all.”
Jeff Quackenbush covers wine, construction and real estate. Reach him at [email protected] or 707-521-4256.
