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Usually on a hot summer day when the temperature climbs to 90 degrees, you see people wearing next to nothing in order to keep sweat bullets to a minimum.
That’s why some might have been surprised to see bikers, dressed all in leather, line up their loud engines in Depot Town for a one-of-a-kind event.
Café Racer kicked off their grand opening celebration at 6 p.m. Saturday at 10 Cross St. Fans of the new coffee and bike shop came out in what seemed like record numbers to see what this small shop that generated a mighty buzz was all about.
Patrick Summers, co-owner of Café Racer said it only took about five months to open up this new business venture.
“There really hasn’t been anything like this before and [coffee and motorcycles] go pretty well together,” Summers said.
Although it was way too hot to drink coffee or tea, customers controlled their body heat with ice-cold water or lemonade and snacked on finger food while they shot pool or checked out bikes for sale in the shop.
“We wanted to give people a place to hang out and build a community of motorcycle, scooter people and have something cool in Dept Town,” Summers said.
Don Secord, a huge motorcycle fan, didn’t mind the heat as he sat in front of the shop and admired all of the bikes parked along the sidewalk.
“I heard about the café and decided to check it out,” he said as he sipped his lemonade.
Not only can customers get their bike fixed, and sip on a hot cup a joe, but they can also buy from Café Racer just in case they want to take a piece of the shop home with them.
“Bikes are always going to be on the floor for sale [as well as] parts,” Summers said. “We also provide honest service. Were not trying to rip people off, were trying to get people a fair price.”
Happy customers can also buy apparel to represent Café Racer wherever they go.
Sara Whickman will most likely do that when she wears her Café Racer t-shirt back in Cleveland. This big motorcycle fan came all the way to Ypsilanti to check out the shop and also support her friend Claire, co-owner of the shop.
“I think this place is awesome,” Whickman said. “It’s got a good feel to it.”
While people kept coming in and out of the shop to cop a feel of the cool air conditioning, the DJ mixed the beats in the back and the party officially began.
To contact Café Racer call (734) 904-6659.