Not so long ago, there were no bike shops in NE. Now there are several. REI joins that crowd late next year.
REI, the specialty outdoors retailer, on Wednesday announced plans to open a sprawling store inside Uline Arena in the District’s NoMa neighborhood. The 51,000-square-foot location is scheduled to open in late 2016. It will be the company’s fifth flagship store and its first in the District.
Executives from REI, which stands for Recreational Equipment, Inc., began scouting locations in the District about 18 months ago. The number of bike lanes in the area, coupled with outdoor parks and a population eager to go hiking, cycling and paddling made it a particularly good fit for the company, Ligtenberg said.
Maybe they'll extend the M Street NE protected bikeway to there.
Well, it's not The Beatles but it's a better use for the spot than an indoor parking lot!
Posted by: John | January 29, 2015 at 11:34 AM
kind of a bummer for all the local shops that were planning to open locations in that area.
rei is the evil empire.
Posted by: brooks | January 29, 2015 at 01:36 PM
Evil? I've owned several Novaras and the bike shop at the Rockville location is quite good. They also let you return bikes,something I don't believe any other shop in the area does. What about them is evil?
Posted by: dynaryder | January 29, 2015 at 04:59 PM
I bought my current bike at a small LBS, but will buy clothing in particular at REI. I am not wealthy enough to buy everything from an LBS regardless of cost (and I suspect Amazon is more of a threat than REI anyway - at least REI engages in advocacy that helps the whole bikeing community, unlike Amazon, AFAIK)
Posted by: ACyclistInThePortCity | January 29, 2015 at 05:33 PM
Still can't help but think LBS's won't be thrilled at REI coming to town. Less than a mile from Daily Rider and about 1.5 miles from the planned new location of Bicycle Space. Probably won't filter off too many bike sales, but parts, accessories and clothing (where the higher margins are) will probably suffer.
Posted by: ontarioroader | January 29, 2015 at 05:46 PM
A major outdoors retailer is moving into a run-down building in a former run-down part of town in a trail and Metro-accessible location, with no public subsidies (that we know of). Stop and think about that for a second. This is a healthy sign for the city.
And it's good to have a segmented retail base, with chains for the casual users and LBS for the more frequent and serious users. No reason the ecosystems can't coexist.
Plus there have always been REIs in the 'burbs.
Posted by: Alexandria | January 30, 2015 at 09:04 AM
Far better than the Walmart by Gonzaga. I find it hard to think of REI as evil, especially given that they are advocates for environmental and bake friendly issues.
Posted by: Brian | January 30, 2015 at 10:41 AM
My wife owns a bike shop near an REI in Prince George's. They get along fine, and having that REI has been very good for the local community. Anything that helps people get outdoors and active seems to pay off. Lots of people start at REI and then come over to the bike shop too, it's sort of nice sometimes to have a options that justify making the trip.
Posted by: Greenbelt | January 30, 2015 at 11:04 AM
Performance seems to be okay near REI at Baileys, and Papillon seems to do okay not far from either.
I would think Walmart would be a bigger threat considering the area, where it's likely income levels might mean people buy a POS bike. But then, they probably wouldn't have purchased from the LBS, so who knows.
Even as an REI member, I've never purchased a bike there. There are just better options for bikes. But I have to think this will be good in the long run.
Posted by: DE | January 30, 2015 at 11:12 AM