Clint Kronenberger is preparing to open the bike service shop Cornerstone Cycle in the same Semmes Avenue storefront where he operated Coqui Cyclery for more than a decade. (Jack Jacobs photo)
After a tumultuous few months both professionally and personally, Clint Kronenberger is shifting gears with a new incarnation of his bike shop at the corner of Semmes and Forest Hill avenues.
Cornerstone Cycle is expected to open in early June at 3416 Semmes Ave., the same storefront where Kronenberger operated Coqui Cyclery for more than a decade.
Kronenberger’s plan for Cornerstone is to focus on bike service and repairs rather than bike sales, which was the emphasis at Coqui.
The business model pivot, which Kronenberger said is in response to larger trends in the bicycle retail sector, comes in the wake of an unannounced and weekslong closure of Coqui that began in late 2023 and ran into January, frustrating customers who couldn’t gain access to their bikes in the shop at the time.
As to the industry trends driving his decision, Kronenberger said it isn’t viable to sell bikes anymore as a small, brick-and-mortar business because of competition from online sources that sell bikes cheaper, as well as what he described as a flooded used-bike market. While neither is a new challenge, Kronenberger said he’s feeling the squeeze from those challenges more acutely post-pandemic. He’s betting that a service focus will help the business endure.
“They can mail order bikes and you can mail order anything, which is where our industry is really going. But they can’t mail order mechanics, and there’s always going to be a need for service in our industry,” he said in an interview with BizSense at the store last week.
He said the pandemic was a boom time for bike sales as people sought ways to spend time outdoors and away from crowds. More recently, people who dabbled in biking during the pandemic are selling their bikes, and the influx of used bikes is difficult to compete against.
“Those bikes are barely ridden. They’re brand new. Unless that person really embraced cycling as a part of their life, they didn’t ride before they bought these bikes in their 30s and 40s, they’re not going to continue to ride when they get back to their bowling and everything they want to do,” Kronenberger said.
Once he sells his remaining stock, Kronenberger said he expects he won’t carry any bikes in the shop, though he plans to continue to sell bike parts and accessories.
Cornerstone also will introduce bike-repair clinics in the space, where people can pay for sessions to learn about different aspects of how to service a bike. Classes are expected to start at $39.
Kronenberger estimated that he’s spent about $10,000 to renovate and prepare the business for the pivot. A portion of the shop’s sales floor has been converted into a seating area with refreshments for customers waiting on quick repairs. Another area that’s split between clinic space and sales floor would transition fully into instructional space as the inventory is emptied out.
‘It was a lot of tough times’
Coqui Cyclery at 3416 Semmes Ave. during its unannounced temporary shutdown last winter.
The reinvention of the business follows a period where Coqui suddenly went dark in December, shuttering its doors without notifying customers who had bicycles either waiting for a pickup or being repaired at the store.
During the closure, Coqui made only a single Facebook post in January telling customers that their bikes were secure and that it intended to reopen soon. But at the time it wasn’t fully explained publicly why the shop was closed.
In the interview last week, Kronenberger said he had trouble juggling the business and challenges in his personal life as he navigated a divorce as well as the deaths of people close to him.
“I experienced some major losses in my life and they weren’t here in this state. They couldn’t be taken care of here. A lot of things were restructuring at that point as well with the divorce and a lot of that just took its toll,” he said. “I’m gone for three weeks, it starts to make people wonder. I didn’t think of that aspect. I was thinking about what was happening with me.”
He expressed regret for the abrupt store closure and lack of communication during the holiday season. He said he’s been reaching out to customers to smooth things over.
“I’m trying to rebuild a little bit of the trust with my community that was lost in this whole debacle over the holiday,” Kronenberger said. “It was a lot of tough times. Right now I’m trying to get past all that and I have reached out to pretty much anybody that I could that I thought might be offended and tried to make amends and it’s come up really well.”
Coqui reopened briefly in January but shuttered again later that month to start on the pivot and associated renovations. Kronenberger said the change in business model had been something he had thought about since early 2023.
Kronenberger has also contended with several legal issues in recent months.
Giant Bicycles in November sued Kronenberger seeking $144,000 for unpaid goods. In early May, the judge in that case ordered Kronenberger to pay the bike manufacturer for the merchandise and other fees. Kronenberger said he was hopeful he could negotiate down the final payment and said he had been in touch with Giant’s legal counsel on that matter. A claim filed by a customer against Coqui in late December was dismissed.
On the personal front, Kronenberger said his divorce has been finalized, and as part of that process he lost ownership of the building on Semmes. Earlier this month a judge dismissed a 2021 assault and battery charge filed against Kronenberger by his now ex-wife.
Kronenberger opened Coqui in 2012 with Ann Toler, who died shortly after the store opened. As he looks toward the next chapter for the shop, Kronenberger feels confident in his chances of making Cornerstone a success.
“The component that built the last business is going to build this business. That component hasn’t changed. It’s the guy that’s there. The person behind it,” he said. “To know that you’re giving that much every day to what you’re passionate about actually evolved into something you can make a living out of and do it quite well, for me, I want to be able to do that again.”
Clint Kronenberger is preparing to open the bike service shop Cornerstone Cycle in the same Semmes Avenue storefront where he operated Coqui Cyclery for more than a decade. (Jack Jacobs photo)
After a tumultuous few months both professionally and personally, Clint Kronenberger is shifting gears with a new incarnation of his bike shop at the corner of Semmes and Forest Hill avenues.
Cornerstone Cycle is expected to open in early June at 3416 Semmes Ave., the same storefront where Kronenberger operated Coqui Cyclery for more than a decade.
Kronenberger’s plan for Cornerstone is to focus on bike service and repairs rather than bike sales, which was the emphasis at Coqui.
The business model pivot, which Kronenberger said is in response to larger trends in the bicycle retail sector, comes in the wake of an unannounced and weekslong closure of Coqui that began in late 2023 and ran into January, frustrating customers who couldn’t gain access to their bikes in the shop at the time.
As to the industry trends driving his decision, Kronenberger said it isn’t viable to sell bikes anymore as a small, brick-and-mortar business because of competition from online sources that sell bikes cheaper, as well as what he described as a flooded used-bike market. While neither is a new challenge, Kronenberger said he’s feeling the squeeze from those challenges more acutely post-pandemic. He’s betting that a service focus will help the business endure.
“They can mail order bikes and you can mail order anything, which is where our industry is really going. But they can’t mail order mechanics, and there’s always going to be a need for service in our industry,” he said in an interview with BizSense at the store last week.
He said the pandemic was a boom time for bike sales as people sought ways to spend time outdoors and away from crowds. More recently, people who dabbled in biking during the pandemic are selling their bikes, and the influx of used bikes is difficult to compete against.
“Those bikes are barely ridden. They’re brand new. Unless that person really embraced cycling as a part of their life, they didn’t ride before they bought these bikes in their 30s and 40s, they’re not going to continue to ride when they get back to their bowling and everything they want to do,” Kronenberger said.
Once he sells his remaining stock, Kronenberger said he expects he won’t carry any bikes in the shop, though he plans to continue to sell bike parts and accessories.
Cornerstone also will introduce bike-repair clinics in the space, where people can pay for sessions to learn about different aspects of how to service a bike. Classes are expected to start at $39.
Kronenberger estimated that he’s spent about $10,000 to renovate and prepare the business for the pivot. A portion of the shop’s sales floor has been converted into a seating area with refreshments for customers waiting on quick repairs. Another area that’s split between clinic space and sales floor would transition fully into instructional space as the inventory is emptied out.
‘It was a lot of tough times’
Coqui Cyclery at 3416 Semmes Ave. during its unannounced temporary shutdown last winter.
The reinvention of the business follows a period where Coqui suddenly went dark in December, shuttering its doors without notifying customers who had bicycles either waiting for a pickup or being repaired at the store.
During the closure, Coqui made only a single Facebook post in January telling customers that their bikes were secure and that it intended to reopen soon. But at the time it wasn’t fully explained publicly why the shop was closed.
In the interview last week, Kronenberger said he had trouble juggling the business and challenges in his personal life as he navigated a divorce as well as the deaths of people close to him.
“I experienced some major losses in my life and they weren’t here in this state. They couldn’t be taken care of here. A lot of things were restructuring at that point as well with the divorce and a lot of that just took its toll,” he said. “I’m gone for three weeks, it starts to make people wonder. I didn’t think of that aspect. I was thinking about what was happening with me.”
He expressed regret for the abrupt store closure and lack of communication during the holiday season. He said he’s been reaching out to customers to smooth things over.
“I’m trying to rebuild a little bit of the trust with my community that was lost in this whole debacle over the holiday,” Kronenberger said. “It was a lot of tough times. Right now I’m trying to get past all that and I have reached out to pretty much anybody that I could that I thought might be offended and tried to make amends and it’s come up really well.”
Coqui reopened briefly in January but shuttered again later that month to start on the pivot and associated renovations. Kronenberger said the change in business model had been something he had thought about since early 2023.
Kronenberger has also contended with several legal issues in recent months.
Giant Bicycles in November sued Kronenberger seeking $144,000 for unpaid goods. In early May, the judge in that case ordered Kronenberger to pay the bike manufacturer for the merchandise and other fees. Kronenberger said he was hopeful he could negotiate down the final payment and said he had been in touch with Giant’s legal counsel on that matter. A claim filed by a customer against Coqui in late December was dismissed.
On the personal front, Kronenberger said his divorce has been finalized, and as part of that process he lost ownership of the building on Semmes. Earlier this month a judge dismissed a 2021 assault and battery charge filed against Kronenberger by his now ex-wife.
Kronenberger opened Coqui in 2012 with Ann Toler, who died shortly after the store opened. As he looks toward the next chapter for the shop, Kronenberger feels confident in his chances of making Cornerstone a success.
“The component that built the last business is going to build this business. That component hasn’t changed. It’s the guy that’s there. The person behind it,” he said. “To know that you’re giving that much every day to what you’re passionate about actually evolved into something you can make a living out of and do it quite well, for me, I want to be able to do that again.”
I am a competitive mt biker. I have lived several blocks from Clint’s shop for over a decade. He has always been helpful and eager to serve this community. my family and friends are also happy with their bikes and service from Clint. I hope people realize that personal things do happen to all of us , and RVA riders can rally behind him and bring his business back to the place of passion and service that I’ve know for 12 years.
Thank you for your support! Its been my pleasure sir. I look forward to seeing you and the family sit at the counter again real soon. Many miles ahead!
I’m sorry to hear the difficulties the proprietor has had, but with the loss of customer trust that occurred during the extended shutdown with multiple conflicting messages given before all of the customers were able to get their bikes back; and an outstanding $144,000 legal judgement; and signing over the building to the owner’s ex-wife leaving little to no collateral to the business; and changing the brand giving the impression of trying to escape liability; it’s unlikely an existing customer that went through all of that will trust the new shop with a bike worth many thousands of dollars. I… Read more »
The shop owner dug themselves into a deep hole. The prolonged closure, constant back-and-forth, and failure to communicate clearly torched any remaining customer goodwill. Tack on a six-figure legal bill and having to sign over the property in a divorce – that’s one hell of a one-two punch. Slapping a new coat of paint on it with a rebrand isn’t fooling anyone who lived through that fiasco. Why would they risk dropping off their prized possessions at a place that essentially abandoned them before? If I had one of my few thousand dollar bikes there for repair and he did… Read more »
I would forgive him if I knew he had multiple very difficult issues going on, being a small business owner is hard — sometimes I wouldn’t wish it on people.
I also notice people hold business owners to a much higher standard than they do to most other people, and this is true for the successful ones as well as the struggling ones.