Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek
Black Saddle Bike Shop owner Mitch Pilon
Mitch Pilon opened his bike shop on North Sherman Avenue in February.
Black Saddle Bike Shop, Madison’s newest bike shop, opened in February at 601 N. Sherman Ave. Just about a month later, the state started shutting down businesses and ordering people to stay home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Luckily for owner Mitch Pilon, bicycle shops are deemed an essential business in the Wisconsin Essential Business Declaration and can remain open for sales and repairs. But it’s not business as usual.
Pilon is the only employee at the shop. Originally from the Quad Cities, he’s lived in Madison since 2015 and gained industry experience by working for both Revolution Cycles and Slow Roll Cycles. In 2018, Pilon began planning to open his own shop. He had a lease in hand for a shop on Monroe Street, but that fell through at the last moment. Pilon is not disappointed. He says he always wanted to be on the north side.
Pilon recently spoke with Isthmus after he closed up shop on one Saturday evening; the interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Isthmus: You’re a new business. We’re living in a pandemic. How are things going?
Mitch Pilon: Today business totally changed. I got busy — I got hit hard. I had to kick three people out. I was letting one person in at a time, but now you have to wait outside. I have a two-year-old, so even with this adjusted business model I’m going to take what I can get.
You’ve been deemed an essential business. What does that mean for you?
We're here to keep people's bicycle transportation freedoms intact. I have a very low inventory of bicycles for sale; I am service-focused mostly. Black Saddle, Slow Roll Cycles, Revolution Cycles and The Cargo Bike Shop have pledged a "pay what you can" for labor to anybody in the service industry and to those affected by COVID.
What has been the impact of COVID-19 on your business?
Not having any sort of data in previous years, it’s hard to answer that. I’m keeping busy. Basically, the hardest thing to do is keep up with wiping down door handles and things. If a customer does come inside, they aren’t allowed to touch any merchandise in here. They wait at the door, and then we conduct business. I’d say 95 percent of the time I will intercept business outside.
What is the emotional impact?
I like to talk to people, and I like to get their stories. That’s important to me. I can talk a little, but when they’re outside you’re going right to business. It’s hard to tell somebody you absolutely cannot come in. But it’s what I have to start doing. I now have to put signs on my door with the rules.
You’ve worked at two other bike shops in town? What is your relationship now with them?
It’s a small niche business. We all know each other for the most part. My motto is never burn a bridge. I’m still close with Jeff who owns Revolution Cycles. We will forever be friends. To be honest our business models are similar. And Dan at Slow Roll, and Tim and Amber at Cargo Bike Shop. We have to be close and work together because we’re small and independent. We’d rather keep our customers in our little network than have our customers go off to corporate bike shops. And I’m not saying that to mean I have a problem with corporate bike shops. The independent small business is near and dear to me.
You offer personal delivery by bike of chains, cables, pedals, and even air high fives. Anyone take you up on an air high five yet?
No! No one has requested one yet. But I have made a lot of deliveries. I’m doing that to keep the stoke and happiness going. I’ve gone as far as the Arboretum to deliver coffee, a T-shirt and pedals.
Your website says, “Come on in, the coffee is on and the music is playing.” If people could come inside, what kind of coffee would they drink and what music would you be playing?
Rusty Dog roasts the Black Saddle-branded coffee — it’s a Guatemalan. It’s a light roast that I sell by the bag as whole bean or ground. It’s called Wound Up, and the name is true.
Why did you want your own coffee?
I drink coffee all day. I’ll drink it until I close. They reached out and said, “We want to do a branded coffee for you, what do you think?” I said, “What’s the catch?” They said, “No catch.” And then I asked again. They said, “Dammit dude, there’s no catch.”
So I went to their facility, tested all of their coffee and I chose the one I liked. I went in thinking I would leave with a dark roast and I left with a light roast. They are the nicest people and they work hard.
You had an event scheduled to screen a Beastie Boys documentary that was canceled due to COVID-19. You’ve made it clear on social media that you’re a big fan. I’m going to get deep here: How have they influenced you to get you where you are today?
Wow, yeah (laughter). l will say that I love them. I still want to show [the documentary] here. I’m not going to watch it until we can all watch it together.
I went to school so I could one day work with bands and music; I have an associate’s degree in audio engineering. I appreciate them for being a counterculture band. I appreciate punk rock. I appreciate three Jewish kids in New York City becoming hip-hop artists and punk rock artists and rap stars.
I have this shot now because I can do the things I want to do at a grassroots level. Basically what I’m saying is this is my band. This is a band that I can say I’ve started, and we’ll see where it goes.
