Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "discover california"

New electric bike shop in Old Town

2010-03-19T04:57:55Z

Tim Castleman had a big response to the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

He felt so sad, disappointed and angry that he changed his life.

He started developing a hemp-based biofuel system and fought for legalization of hemp in Arizona to help end U.S. dependence on fossil fuels. He began a national "Drive 55" campaign to lower Americans' gas consumption and reduce carbon emissions — an effort turned into a documentary. And he organized two "Peace Trains" to Washington, D.C., to promote rail travel.

"My interest in biofuels led me to understand the real problem isn't that we need another source of fuel. We need another source of energy," said Castleman, 51. "The real problem is we don't use what we have appropriately. This led to this whole conservation-minded approach to living."

That approach led him to get into bicycles in a really big way. Two years later, he bought a derelict old Worksman trike for $5 from a neighbor. The trike had been through a fire. Two wheels were missing. Castleman saw only a really useful tool that could get him around. Something he could use to bring home groceries, garden supplies and other cargo.

He found Worksman Cycles still in business, ordered a mess of parts and fixed the trike. He painted it black and slapped on a sticker reading, "One less SUV." He was even happier to discover that Worksman has been making bikes and trikes in this country since 1898.

The former HVAC contractor and his 23-year-old son, Cassidy, are now turning a longtime dream into a reality. They're opening a bike shop that's destined to fill a niche by renting and selling Worksman and electric bikes. They'll also offer repair service and retrofitting to make any bike electric.

Tim Castleman wanted to offer bikes for people who can't or simply don't want to pedal all the time. Once he found Irvine-based Pedego electric bikes, the quality and design were the catalyst that pushed him to open the store.

The bruised and bleeding economy allowed them to take over the well-trafficked Old Sacramento storefront vacated by Discover California, a gift shop open for 17 years.

With a little help from his son, Tim Castleman has brought new life to 114 J St., which is close to the bike trail. The 3,400-square-foot space contains exposed brick walls, 9-foot French windows, 14-foot ceilings, back rooms and a basement on the original city level. They cleaned, painted and repaired light fixtures. They prepared wall space for local art that will debut on Second Saturday Art Walks.

He spent more than five days refinishing the showroom's beat-up, old wooden floor measuring about 2,500 square feet.

The tall black, tan and purple front doors are now open, although the targeted opening isn't until April 1. People wandered into the shop Thursday to ask about the Pedego electric bikes. A shipment of 10 bikes painted apricot, maroon or midnight blue had just arrived that day.

Father and son worked together to pull Pedego cruisers out of shipping boxes and stack them out on the floor. They expect 37 Worksman bikes next week.

Cassidy Castleman is a business student at California State University, Sacramento. He also sells solar electricity for a Rocklin company full-time. His dad got him into solar and other environmentally friendly lifestyle habits, including riding bikes.

"I've gotten a lot of grief for wanting to drive a car instead of ride a bike if it was less than 20 miles," Cassidy said. "It's part of who we are as a family."

Tim Castleman likes his old trike so much that he wanted to sell Worksman products. He loves the sturdy, heavy-duty bikes — which are often used for pizza and ice cream deliveries and other business or "industrial" uses — because they're useful, comfortable and strong, and it doesn't take an athlete to ride them. He also likes the price: Base-model cruisers sell for $299.

"For a made-in-the-U.S.A. bike, that's a bargain," he said. "There ain't nothin' out there that can touch that."

Their store will differ from other bike shops in town because their bikes are geared toward regular folks.

"If you go to a traditional bike store, it tends to be geared toward the racers. Most people aren't racers," Cassidy Castleman said, adding many bike stores have cruisers sitting out in front because that's what's selling.

"There's a definite bike culture here in Sacramento," he said. "Most of the people I see riding around have cool old bikes."

Both will staff the shop. Tim Castleman will service bikes and Cassidy will handle marketing, including building a website. The shop will rent and sell Pedego cruisers, heavy-duty Worksman cruisers called Newsboys and Newsgirls, and Worksman side-by-side trikes, both standard and electric. Single-speed cruisers rent for $5 per hour or $28 per day, and Pedegos for $15 per hour or $80 per day.

"People who come down here — they're looking for fun. They're looking for entertainment. And in this economy, people are hurting," Tim Castleman said. "They can rent a bike for an hour or two for five or 10 bucks — that's affordable."

The shop will also sell Pedego's electric folding bikes and from Worksman, sturdy, industrial-grade standard tandems and trikes, recumbants, folding trikes, hand cycles and two-wheel cargo bikes. Dutch-style Worksman Roadsters will sell for $249, and foldable trikes for $429. An electric foldable trike will sell for $969.

Pedego cruisers will start at $1,595, or $1,775 for an upgrade featuring balloon tires. Those bikes have eight-pound lithium ion batteries and 500-watt motors and weigh about 60 pounds. They can be ridden at speeds up to 20 miles per hour and can go for 15 to 30 miles on a single charge. A 16-inch foldable will go for $1,395. The Castlemans plan to hold an event showing people how to use solar power to charge the batteries.

The store even carries one high-wheeler antique replica that will sell for $1,295 because Castleman is also a dealer for Rideable Bicycle Replicas in Alameda.

"This is the original fixie," he said.

Cassidy Castleman happily admits his dad is the driving passion behind the store. The pair has searched for a store location for four years. But Tim Castleman took the leap to open the shop after surviving radiation therapy for prostate cancer in January.

Ironically, it was a bicycle accident that helped make the store possible. A few years ago, he was riding a bicycle downtown on 15th Street when a restaurant valet suddenly opened a car door in front of him. Castleman flew over the bike and suffered a broken arm. He's using money from the settlement to open the bike shop.

The shop may seem like a small thing to some. But the Castlemans think it can really make a difference. Tim Castleman believes Worksman and Pedego's electric bikes can be "game changers."

"I don't own a car anymore," he said.

Practical Cycle will be open seven days per week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with extended hours in the summer. For more information, call 706-0077 or check out PracticalCycle.com.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter covering business and development for The Sacramento Press.

Changes in Old Sac

2009-08-31T02:11:58Z

Locals who hit Gold Rush Days over Labor Day Weekend will notice some changes in Old Sacramento.

New business activity including historic building reconstruction is underway. While the addition of new ventures hasn't totally offset the loss of others, tourism revenue for 2009 seems to be holding steady with 2007 and 2006, said Melissa Martinez, executive director of the Old Sacramento Business Association, a business improvement district.

"We're staying steady in tourism," said Martinez. "That’s a really good sign."

In 2007, retail businesses brought in $2.25 million in sales tax revenue, about the same as 2006. Tax receipts dipped by $129,000 in 2008 — primarily due to the I-5 renovation, she said. Roughly 2 million to 3 million people are believed to visit Old Sacramento each year.

In the last 18 months, 12 businesses have opened and 19 have closed in the historic district.

A new restaurant is set to open this fall, and significant construction has just begun to replace the buildings which contained the Ebner Hotel and Empire House, which had stood on K Street since at least 1856. The construction will add retail and office space behind a facade that replicates the two original buildings as closely as possible. The new building will not house a hotel.

Some businesses are getting creative to draw in more customers now. On Thursday, Renaissance Faire veteran Chris Reyes started her first day walking the wooden sidewalks in a black fairy outfit and handing out fliers for the 23-year-old Garden of Enchantment. Half of the sidewalk leading to the tiny shop at 126 K St. is closed as part of the Ebner/Empire construction site.

The long-awaited reconstruction of the side-by-side historic hotels and the start of other new ventures are “promising signs” for the area, said Natalie Birk, manager of the city's Old Sacramento Historic District.

"We've got a lot going on," she said.

The most notable loss was California Fat's Asian Grill & Steakhouse, which closed in May 2008 after 35 years as a restaurant location. The 1015 Front St. site, which the Fat family operated under several names, is still available for special events. Another big loss was Discover California, which had operated for 17 years. The store had sold mainly souvenirs and fudge. The owners added a wine bar in the store a year or two ago, but that wasn’t enough to save the shop, Birk said.

Fulton's Prime Rib & Grill closed in sub-level Pioneer Square previously. In addition, Vanity Salon closed on the ground floor of D & S Development’s iLofts at 120 I St. One of the partners, Brenda Overbo, reopened as Brenda’s Hair Studio above Pioneer Square. D & S is now talking with prospective retail tenants to fill the open space.

Second Street holds a lot of vacancies. A knickknack and gift store run by a woman and her son for 20 years closed there just last week, after being unable to hang on until Gold Rush Days, said Hassan Shaikh, a store clerk at a nearby purse and sunglass shop called 17.

Shaikh said he's sad neighbors have had to close during the recession.

"In Old Sacramento, we all feel like one community. We're all pretty much trying to help each other," he said. "We're all trying to make it and stay out of the red. It's a struggle for all of us right now."

Many businesses along the train tracks were closed because that area is going to be ripped out, Martinez said. Other vacancies, including sub-level and alley locations, are sprinkled throughout Old Sacramento.

However, there's been significant new activity as well.

Across from the California State Railroad Museum, the spaces surrounding Pioneer Square were remodeled and have been available since June for shops, a restaurant and wine bar.

D & S has sold eight of the nine live-work iLofts, which were completed in the old Mechanics’ Exchange building in 2007. The company expects to learn next week whether a buyer will purchase the $396,000 third-floor penthouse, or a different tenant will rent the space, said company representative Bay Miry.

The 1,000-square-foot unit comes furnished and features a contemporary look with marble floors and red granite in the kitchen. Views include Old Sacramento, downtown high-rises, the Sacramento River and Tower Bridge.

Last spring, Brickside restaurant opened at 106 J St., where Cantina Del Rio had served Mexican food since August 2005, and River City Saloon opened at 916 Second St. in the former home of the Earl Gray Manor, a tea salon that closed in August 2007 after only two years.

Hornblower Cruise ships now sit docked on the Sacramento River. The company has been offering history, dinner and Sunday brunch cruises since July. Also that month, Old Sacramento got clean, new restrooms built by the city next to the grassy area in front of Rio City Café.

In October, Old Sacramento Properties, a division of Harvego Enterprises, expects to open a restaurant, Ten22, on the ground floor of its new building, the Orleans. The mixed-use construction featuring 24 rental lofts was completed last September. Harvego has owned The Firehouse nearby for 10 years.

Crews are currently working on the restaurant's interior, which will create a light, vibrant atmosphere. The 6,900-square-foot space will seat 190, while a 2,400-square-foot courtyard will seat 100, said Harvego Enterprises Director Terry Harvego. American food "with a twist" will be served.

The Hall, Luhrs & Co. building, which long ago housed a wholesale grocer, is being renovated. Owner Mike Stafford of Stafford Architects Associates recently had a wall added to divide a front office space from the rest of the cavernous old building at 914 Second St. Once the renovation has "progressed sufficiently," Stafford plans to move his firm from a penthouse at 1107 Ninth St. to the Old Sacramento location and rent out the rest of the building, according to marketing materials in the windows. Neither Stafford nor his staff returned phone calls.

A few weeks ago, the owner of the original 17 on Second St. opened a second shop by that name at 127 J St.

Many of the closings happened when businesses relocated to buildings or areas where rent was lower, Martinez said.

"From a retailer's perspective, it’s a lot easier to go to a strip mall and pay a third less, maybe, and have all those current amenities that you won’t have in a historic building," she said.

To do business in Old Sacramento, owners must be willing to locate in an area with limited street entrances, smaller shops and windows, and fewer modern amenities. In exchange, their businesses get an "exclusive feel" from being in a historic district and they become part of a tight-knit community of unique little shops filling the "nooks and crannies" of Old Sacramento, said Martinez.

"They’re little treasures," she added.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.