Thomas MacMillan Photo
Matt Feiner had intended to open his bike shop’s new location at 360 State Monday. Instead, the day found him still deep in prep work, nursing a sore back, and dealing with the weekend theft of his shop’s most expensive bicycle.
Feiner has operated the Devil’s Gear bike shop on Chapel Street in the Wooster Square neighborhood for eight years. It has become a hub for New Haven’s vibrant cycling community.
For three of those years, he’s been planning a move to 360 State, the new mixed-use high-rise being completed downtown at the corner of State and Chapel Streets. The new complex emphasizes alternative energy and travel alternatives to cars; Devil Gear’s has a door opening into a storage area for tenants to keep hundreds of bikes. The store itself opens onto Pitkin Plaza on Orange Street.
With the space finally ready for occupancy on Aug. 1, Feiner has been hard at work building out his new shop. He had hoped to be open by Monday, Aug. 16.
Last-minute delays pushed that date back, delaying his move long enough for a thief to break into his old shop on Saturday night and make off with the store’s priciest bike.
To make matters worse, Feiner threw out his back answering the phone call notifying him of the burglary on Saturday.
On Monday, Feiner was at work in his new space, sporting a supportive wrap around his lower back. As he mixed polyurethane for the countertops, Feiner shared the story of the recent burglary and how much he’s looking forward to settling into the shop’s new home downtown.
The burglar broke in on Saturday night before 9 p.m. by bending back the bars that cover the shop’s windows. The burglar then broke a pane of glass and reached in to unlock the door. Once inside, the burglar apparently made a bee-line for the shop’s top-of-the-line Fuji SST 1.0 road bike and went out through the back door and over a fence, Feiner said.
“They knew exactly what they were looking for,” Feiner said. The SST, which sells for about $6,000, was hung up in a back corner of the shop. The thief “had to move a bunch of stuff” out of the way to get to it and pull over a chair to reach it, he said. Nothing else in the store was taken.
Earlier in the week, a guy had come in the shop asking to see the most expensive bike in stock, Feiner said. One of his employees showed him the SST, explained all its fancy components and what made it so valuable. Then the guy left. He may have returned Saturday night to take the bike, Feiner said.
The police were able to lift some fingerprints off a pane of glass where the burglar broke in, Feiner said.
At 9:15 p.m., Feiner got a call from his alarm company, ADT. He was asleep at the time; he instantly knew it must be bad news. “I jumped up and threw my back out,” Feiner said. He wrenched his lower back during his speedy exit from his bed, winced his way to the phone, groaned a greeting, and was told his shop had been burglarized.
It was the most recent of several burglaries to hit the Chapel Street shop. Two months ago, burglars broke in but didn’t take anything. Last November, a group of teens smashed their way into the shop and snatched about 15 bikes. That burglary was not as targeted as Saturday’s; the thieves walked right past the $6,000 bike and grabbed cheaper ones.
Despite his sore back and his recent burglary, Feiner said he’s trying to keep his moving difficulties in perspective using a simple motto he got from his father: no one’s dead, nothing’s on fire.
“I’m really looking forward to moving over here,” Feiner said on Monday behind the counter at 360 State. Planning and executing the move has proved a long process, Feiner said. “I’m looking forward to being over here and done.”
The new shop is roughly the same size as the old one, with the same red and yellow color scheme. Feiner has built the counters that will section off the two bike stands for repair. He’s picked out the honey-colored stain for the cement floor. Feiner has been doing most of the work himself. He’s still waiting on 360 State workers to complete a back display and storage room.
Meanwhile, well-wishers and potential customers have been poking their heads in the shop to say how eager they are for him to open, Feiner said. “It’s been one person after another. I should set up a tour guide.”
Feiner said he’s now shooting for a new opening day of Sept. 6. “I’m really looking forward to that first day.”