Dog Day Cyclery Fills a Void

Local bicycle die-hard's and recreational riders alike have something to be excited about: Dog Day Cyclery.

The new bike shop on Van Brunt Street between Union and President streets has opened in the right place at the right time. There aren't any other shops close by, the Brooklyn Greenway is right outside the door and biking is becoming widely recognized as a viable means of transportation in urban environments.

Damien Nesbit opened the business with his father, Bill, in August, and says the community has welcomed him with open arms, and lots of business.

"I'm busier than I anticipated, and overwhelmed by how positive the response has been," he said. "People are glad we're here. When we got in here it was clear the needs of the neighborhood were not being met."

And so Dog Day, a modest shop that is still finding its "sea legs," is filling a niche in a neighborhood that sits between the public transportation starved Red Hook, and subway filled Downtown Brooklyn.

Nesbit says he is approaching his business like a serious mechanic, and is  treating every bike that comes in the door with the same care.

"A bike is a serious vehicle," he said. "And just like a car, it needs maintenance to keep it running."

After spending many years as a bike mechanic, a bike salesman and a bike courier, Nesbit took a job in the financial industry. When that bubble burst, he said, he returned to his true passion: bicycles.

"After putting my heart into other people's ventures, I realized the only way to make a living in bicycles was to do it myself," he said.

Bill Nesbit, a man with a head for numbers, decided he'd go into business with his son. A father and son team is the "oldest tenant of business," joked the younger Nesbit.

The goal of Dog Day is to "become the go to shop for all of the needs of the immediate community" and then one day become a destination shop for all of Brooklyn and NYC, said Nesbit.

The small store has so far has been working mostly in repairs, with sales of accessories like bike lights, streamers and seats going steady. Nesbit hopes to soon sell bikes, too, and is open to discussing with customers what else they'd like to see on the shelves.

"We're a congenial shop," said Nesbit. "We're bike nerds, and we're nice folk."