Broke bikes and brownies is what’s on the menu at Broke Bikes Deli. A temporary concept store where you come in to have a drink and some freshly baked cake while ordering a new bike for take-out.
Out of the 14 pop-ups treasurable hidden at De Nieuwe Gaanderij, there’s one particular that caught my eye: . A pop-up store where you can have your bike built on the spot while having a drink and a little snack at the counter. Lenny, one of the shop owners told me they have really good coffee and delicious organic iced tea. While you’re at it, why not have a piece of freshly baked brownies as well? Because seeing the wide range of possibilities, I’m guessing it would at least take me about an hour to decide which color of bike would best fit me.
Given that high need-to-see and need-to-feel factor, this is the exact reason why Lenny, Bart and Bram decided to open this pop-up store in the center of Antwerp: “This way we can offer customers who prefer to do their shopping offline the possibility to get in touch with our products.”
The original idea behind Broke Bikes is that you design your bike online. Built using only high quality components, these fixed gear bikes are simple by design. The concept is as easy as one, two, three. You first decide the size of your fixie, then you choose the colors of the parts, and finally you pick out your preferred type of handlebars.
While Rome wasn’t built in a day, a Broke Bike is. If you place your order online, your bike will arrive about 90% ready to go. All you’ll need to do is screw in the pedals, seat, front wheel and handlebars as if you were putting something together you just bought at Ikea. If you decide to visit the pop-up store instead, you’ll have your bike ready in a couple of hours for take-out.
Bikes are a common means of transport in the Antwerp streets. Maybe Antwerp isn't hyped as bicycle city like Amsterdam or Copenhagen, riding a bike is definitely in our DNA. No matter what season, day or night, you see young hipsters, school kids as well as old people ride their bikes. It's Broke Bike’s mission to bring childlike fun and color back to cycling. So, from cherry red to racing green we will eventually be the city with the prettiest bikes and the most colorful street scenes.
Not a fan of online shopping? Or just really curious to see a Broke Bike from up close? And maybe even craving that freshly baked brownie as well?
The Broke Bikes Deli shop at the Nieuwe Gaanderij 40 in Huidevettersstraat will be open till the end of March 2015.Need more info?
Text by Laetitia Sabiti -
Pics by Laetitia Sabiti -