History
Missoula Bicycle Works first opened for business in 1996. The shop was started by two college students, Monte Snyder and Michael Schmitt, who felt that Missoula needed a bicycle repair shop with a strong service orientation. Their shop grew quickly and three years later Missoula Bicycle Works experienced its first move into a larger store at 113 West Main Street in Downtown Missoula. The larger space allowed Mike, then the sole owner, to begin selling mountain bikes. The bike shop continued to expand as did the reputation for quality repair work.
After six years of owning and running Missoula Bicycle
Works, Mike sold his shop to the current owner,
Alex Gallego. Under the new ownership Missoula
Bicycle Works headed into new territory and into
another new location at 521 South Higgins Avenue.
To compliment the full line of mountain bikes,
the shop opened itself to carrying a full range
or road, touring, and comfort bikes. One thing
that did not change was the original commitment
to excellent service that has guided the shop
from its very beginning. Following three years
of continued growth, it became necessary for the
shop to relocated once again into a larger space.
The three year moving bug struck again!
In November of 2004 Missoula Bicycle Works moved into its new and HOPEFULLY permanent home at 708 South Higgins Avenue. Moving a bike shop is not fun so we do not plan on doing it again. This time we think we have it right. We found a much larger building that allowed us to create a space that reflects our passion for the sport of cycling and provides ample opportunity and resources for our mechanics to apply their skills in the most professional and up-to-date facility. It also provides us with plenty of room to grow so moving again is out of the question!
The renovation of our new building (built in
1944 to serve as the Sprouse-Reitz) was undertaken
by a team of professionals who are as passionate
as they are exceptional about what they do. We
worked closely with Jeff Crouch of Kibo Group Architrecture and Frank Scariano of
Scariano Construction to develop the space in
terms of its practicality and attractiveness.
A generous grant from the Missoula Redevelopment
Agency allowed us to achieve certain design goals.
The renovation project was completed in November
2004. In May 2005 the Missoula Historical Preservation
Commission recognized the effort with the Commercial
Renovation and Rehabilitation Award. This award
is extremely meaningful to us because we feel
it reflects our desire to contribute positively
to the aesthetic and historic value of our neighborhood
and downtown Missoula.
