Allyson Amster says that she and the other five co-founders of
Bike Sauce all have experience working at DIY bike repair shops elsewhere in the city, and when they decided to open a new one in the east end, they came to a realization: the gearhead environment could be a drawback.
"We recognized that it could be intimidating to a lot of people who wanted to be involved in cycling, and in building the city through cycling advocacy," Amster says. So they hit on the idea of combining the repair shop with a social space and an advocacy approach -- a space she says will be "stacked with cycling literature" alongside wrenches and spokes.
The new organization at 717 Queen Street East -- at the corner of Broadview Avenue -- is set to open April 17, but will host a fundraising party featuring local bands and "Bike Jazz with dancers" on April 9. The fundraising component is important, since Bike Sauce is, for now, a non-profit organization entirely run by volunteer labour.
Amster says the six co-founders personally provided seed money to launch the organization, and have attracted a dedicated crew of 20-30 volunteers so far. The business model, she explains, depends on revenue from the sale of refurbished bikes -- which Amster says is already booming even prior to the opening -- plus sales of bike parts in the shop and donations, which are also already strong.
The fundraiser takes place Friday, April 9 at 9pm, at
Blue Moon, 725 Queen Street East. Admission is on a $5-$10 sliding scale.
Author: Edward Keenan
Source: Allyson Amster, Co-founding Director, Bike Sauce
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