Bicycle Chef has temporarily closed until the business is transformed into Sacramento's first bike shop/microbrewery.

Owner Christopher Davis-Murai, a longtime cyclist and chef, is currently hunting for a space where he can open a hybrid business that combines a full-service bike shop with a microbrewery and restaurant.

The Land Park resident has been looking for a 4,000- to 6,000-square-foot building to lease or buy for several months. He put the entire contents of his East Sacramento shop into storage and closed the doors a month ago after being unable to find a space before the lease ran out at 3184 N St.

Belgium and France have several bike shop/brew pubs. Davis-Murai has wanted to open one in Sacramento since 2006, about a year after he first opened Bicycle Chef at 2409 J St. in Midtown.

"I wanted it to be a nice taste of Europe, but in Sacramento," he said.

He grew up in Elk Grove, where he started racing at 17. He got his first job working in restaurants shortly after. Graduating from high school in 1984, Davis-Murai spent the mid-1980s to early 1990s riding and racing in Sacramento.

He worked just about every job in the restaurant industry, from graveyard-shift dishwasher just out of high school to bus boy, waiter and cook. Working at restaurants at night allowed him to ride and train during the day.

Davis-Murai graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1994. He spent several years traveling. He raced or rode throughout the country and worked, often as a personal chef for clients such as the Cabot family of Boston at its 50,000-acre property in Colorado. He returned to Sacramento in 2001.

He opened Bicycle Shop in Midtown, then moved the shop to East Sacramento in December 2008. He spent most of 2010 working on a plan to buy the building at 32nd and N streets and open the bike shop/microbrewery there.

But there were challenges involving structural and permit issues with the building, which had been built in 1918. He and the property owner weren't able to agree on a price, Davis-Murai said.

He's now considering three buildings in Midtown and Oak Park while real estate brokers search for other property in the central city – ideally with a patio or courtyard. One candidate is an old, Spanish-style church complex at 24th and K streets owned by Thomas A. Roth.

While Davis-Murai searched for space in East Sacramento, the business won't work there because none of the available spaces offer enough parking. But he said he will keep it close to the central city.

"I want it to be easily accessible for people on bikes," he said.

Davis-Murai is determining which areas of town can handle the wastewater that would be produced by a microbrewery. He is also searching for one more investor in addition to the two he has recruited.

Plans call for a 400- to 500-square foot bike shop with room for a mechanic, a small inventory of customizable bike frames, bike clothes and accessories.

The microbrewery would take up about 30 percent of the space. The microbrews would be German-style lagers such as pilsners, India pale ales, imperial stouts and Belgian-style beer.

The gastropub would celebrate the slow-food movement. The small, flexible menu would focus on local and seasonal products bought from farmers and farmers markets and suggested pairings with beer and wine – something like The Monk's Kettle in San Francisco, said Davis-Murai, who will serve as the chef and chief mechanic.

He said he hopes to reopen Bicycle Chef this summer. In the meantime, he’s operating Bicycle Chef Catering.

Others in Sacramento's growing bike community said they were happy the shop's closure will be temporary.

"I'm glad to hear he's bringing it back to life," said Cassidy Castleman, co-owner of Practical Cycle in Old Sacramento. "The way the economy is these days, you've got to be creative to make it work."