Beyond the Bike: Habit Coffee

At this point it’s beyond cliché to hammer away at the connection between bikes and beans. On any given Sunday, 90% of the cyclists you know will be a jittery bag of nerves twitchier and more on edge than the start of the B race at your local Crit series. While neither of Habit’s locations have a patio regularly swarmed by hoards of cyclists in active wear ‘just one their way out/back from a ride,’ bicycles have always been a part of Habit Coffee. They’ve supported Stuckylife’s allycat and SemiPrestige races, and they don’t look at us funny when we clack our way through in road shoes after a ride. But Habit also makes cycling part of their business every day. Part of the way they make cycling part of their business model is with the Habit bike, a Fr8 bike from Dutch company, Workcycles. Shane dropped the Workcycle off, so we took the chance to ask him a bit more about the bike, and how it fits into the everyday operation of Habit.

1) We really like the Habit bike. Is there a story behind the bike? (where did you find it, where did the idea to use a bike at the store come from?)

The bike is from Holland. There’s this really interesting small company in Amsterdam called Workcycles. Henry Cutler is the man behind it, they basically build the highest quality bikes for everyday use whether its packing your self around with kids, or a big load of anything.

2) How does the bike fit into Habit? How does it get used in running the business? How did this start?

We use the bike almost daily. Its called a Fr8 ( freight) and it is designed to fit people from 5’5 to 6’5 so we all can use it. The bike is mainly used to transport stock and good s between the two shops. We also do some deliveries or milk runs with the bike.

3) Habit seems really interested in supporting sustainability as a business. Is the bike just part of that effort, or does using a bike as part of the day-to-day business provide other advantages? I saw recently that Habit staff all bike to work at Rock the Shores – how did that work? Were you able to set up at Rock the Shores completely car free? Have there been other events like that?

Ha, no Rock the Shores is a big load in involving 2 trucks and my station wagon. Like Riff we are basically setting up a full service cafe in a park, so there’s lots to move in. The bike part of both events is again to have it there so we can rip out to reload. The biking to RTS is mainly a team building fun exercise. We all ride in general so to make the 40 minute ride out to the festival is just a lot of fun together as a team. Plus its healthier and with the Goose its a no brainer. The bike of course is a big part of our sustainability messaging. I think its a positive piece for us visually as people see that bike zipping around with product in it.

4) Do you ride much outside of your work at Habit?

I ride always. I commute to work everyday and really use my bike to do most things in life. I ride another City Bike from Holland that has a rack on the front that can carry an adult if needed. So groceries and beer runs are easy!

5) Victoria’s not exactly short on good coffee shops, what made you want to start your own?

That’s a long story and yes in the last decade we have seen more and more great coffee spots pop up. Really, what we wanted to do was contribute an interesting space that could become a social hub for the community. There really weren’t many gathering spaces for people to meet and engage. I really feel we have been successful on that front. The vast array of connections we have witnessed over the years is something we really hold with a sense of joy.

Obviously at the core was we really wanted to offer a high quality coffee experience with the customer service to match. Were also very proud of that too and even 9 years later we feel we are at the top of out game in those departments

6) Habit uses mostly (exclusively?) Bows X Arrows beans for their coffee. Is this part of the sustainability strategy, or an interest in supporting other local businesses? Or do they just make the kind of coffee you want? (or all of the above)

Drew from Bows is one of my closest friends. Their coffee kicks ass. They really are leaders in the industry ( globally ). They also are very much inline with us from a sustainability stand point. They know their coffee’s and who produces them and support the same people year after year. I’ve been to Honduras, Nicaragua, and Brasil in the last few years with the Bows crew.

7) You’ve publicly supported the City’s proposed downtown bike lanes, including the Pandora 2-way bike lane proposal. Care to say anything about why you support that? (Does having the bike lane affect Habit as a business, or downtown/local businesses in general? Or is having more cyclists commuting just in line with Habit’s interest in sustainability?)

I’ve supported that bike lane along with the new budget for progressive infrastructure to be built in the coming 4 years. What I see is a Mayor and council that are up for funding and being aggressive with building the start of a world class cycling network. We need to make cycling safer and accessible to everyone and getting some big project bike lanes done while we have this council and their support is key. I believe that once that is done we can continue over the years to improve cycling all over the region, especially in neighborhoods where traffic calming etc can make local trips to school or a cafe safe for everyone.

As far as Habit and business, I have zero worry of it impacting my business or any for that matter. The studies are out there from all corners of the world and Ive experienced in my travels that it will actually increase business.

The Habit Coffee Workcycles Fr8’er

As Shane said, Workcycles is a Dutch company looking to provide high quality, functional bike for everyday commuting and business use. They make cargo bikes of all sorts to suit all sorts of transport needs, from businesses to getting your kids to school. Workcycles offers a few basic models, which can then be customized to suit each users needs. The Habit Bike is Workcycles Fr8 bike, but decked out in all sorts of well thought out features that make it useful around Habit on a daily basis.