Worker-owned Hub Bike Cooperative closing both of its Minneapolis locations

Two worker-owners repaired bicycles in a back room of the the Hub Bike Co-Op’s flagship store in south Minneapolis on Monday, lamenting their decision to close the 22-year-old bike shop for good.

Even if closing is the right thing to do for the business financially, “I’m pretty sad about it,” Cristina Montoya said while replacing the chain and pedals on a road bike. “For a lot of us, or especially for the worker-ownership, you’re putting a lot of yourself into the business, not only with work, but your personal time as well.”

The Minneapolis bike shop has announced it will close both of its locations — at 3020 Minnehaha Av. and 401 SE. Oak St. on the University of Minnesota campus — at the end of the work day on Sept. 30, following a unanimous vote by the owners. It marks the closure of the city’s only for-profit, worker-owned bicycle store.

Changes in the bicycling industry led to the decision, six owner-workers said in a letter posted to customers and neighbors on its website. The Hub sold various types of bikes, offered do-it-yourself work spaces and held classes on bike repair and maintenance.

As he replaced a couple of tires, employee-owner Brian Dowdy said a decline in consumer demand for bicycles followed a spike during the start of the pandemic in 2020.

“At some point, the demand just dried up,” Dowdy said. “People went back to work, were cycling less and lots of folks sold their bikes used, so the used market was also saturated.”

The lower demand led to bicycle manufacturers reducing suggested retail prices, which in turn reduced the Hub’s profit margins, Dowdy said. The trend of buying bicycles online, directly from manufacturers, also continued, Dowdy said, making survival harder for brick-and-mortar stores.

“This is not the fate that any current or former Worker Owners wished to see,” the owners wrote in their letter. “The industry trends we had hoped would turn around since 2020 never came to fruition. Under the advice of our financial coordinators and the current outlook based on how this year has proceeded, there is simply not a path for The Hub to survive the winter and reemerge in the spring.”

As customer Dan Bryant looked around the store, he said he will miss the shop, noting it became it became his go-to place for repairs after purchasing a bicycle there in 2016.

“I understand, but it certainly is sad to hear,” said Bryant, a Prospect Park neighborhood resident.

The Hub had shut down its shop on Minnehaha Avenue in 2023, then reopened in March this year following the mild winter, which brought optimism that perhaps things were going to turn around, the owners said.

Workers at the Hub could apply to become owners after they worked 1,000 hours at the shop. Montoya said that structure helped empower workers from many backgrounds.

“Being a cooperative, that means we get a lot of voices and a lot of perspectives on what we want to see happening in the shop,” Montoya said.

Several current employees who are not owners said they are still figuring out what their plans will be after the store closes.

Employee Adam Saleh began working at the store about two weeks ago after moving here from Colorado. He said he learned about the closure on the day he was hired.

“I don’t know yet,” Saleh said about his future plans. “There’s so many opportunities out here restaurant-wise and bike-wise, so we’ll see where it leads.”

The Hub shops will stop accepting bicycles that need repairs on Aug. 31. Work on all bicycles already in for repair will be completed before the shops close, the owners said. Over the next two months, the Hub will be holding closing sales with limited-edition merchandise and events.

“We’re obviously grieving the closure of the business, and at the same time, feel really proud of what the Hub has meant for the community,” Dowdy said.