(Courtesy of District Hardware & Bike)

Of all the new stores, restaurants, and apartments opening in The Wharf, one has a particularly personal story: 46 years of family-owned business repairing, selling, and renting bikes in Washington.

District Hardware & Bike settled into its new location last week, having closed its previous Foggy Bottom location in September. Owner Neil Conway says the Southwest waterfront development is the perfect neighborhood for the store to grow into its future.

“We wanted to be in a different market area, which this certainly is,” Conway says, calling The Wharf the hot spot in Washington. “We wanted more space, and in the process of coming from one place to the other, we felt that of all the places in the city, this is ideal.”

The shop will continue providing the services for which it is well-known, says Conway, only it will now have more room to do so.

Folks can still stop by to rent, repair, rebuild, or buy a bike and accessories, as well as check out the space’s impressive hardware section for all sorts of DIY home projects. The store also offers a list of classes and meet-ups: happy hour bike rides and runs, triathlon training, and classes on fixing a flat bike tire or patching drywall are all on the calendar.

There is one major new addition to the space, however: The store’s Velo Café, where those waiting for a bike repair or simply passing by can stop in for a treat. Bethesda Bagels and Souk Bakery goods will be on-hand, as well libations like Vigilante coffee, wine, spirits by Jos A Magnus Distillers, and beer by 3 Stars, Right Proper, and Hardywood Park breweries.

With The Wharf’s expected pedestrian traffic (it doesn’t hurt that a bike path passes right in front of the store, either), Conway hopes the café will serve as another means of expanding the store’s community. It’s an important element to him, he says, and one that has been integral to the business since his father Stanley Conway purchased it in 1971.

Stanley, a British World War II veteran who participated in D-Day, immigrated to America in the 1950s, settling in Washington with his wife and children.

The original business that would become District Hardware & Bike began in 1937, and when Stanley purchased it, it was just a Dupont Circle mom-and-pop hardware store, Conway says. But Stanley quickly realized there was a market for repairing and selling bikes in Washington, and added that element to the store. The Conway’s family business was born.

Stanley worked with his hands all his life, Conway says, spending time in airplane factories and as a cannon technician in the British Army. That skill combined with his personable, pleasant demeanor helped make the business a success.

“He made an effort to know people’s names, to know who his customers were,” Conway says. “We’re trying to do the same thing here, too, and I believe we do a good job at it. We try to be non-Home Depot or non-Lowe’s. We try to be as personal and as convenient and to help people as much as we can, and that translates into sales, goodwill, and a nice community feeling.”

This passion for the family business clearly transcends generations: In addition to Conway, his daughter, Lauren, is the café’s food and beverage operations manager, and his son, Jared, oversees business development.

Conway sees the new space as a way of passing along the business to Washington’s next generation, he says, and catering to the city’s strong, and growing, biking presence.

“I believe that Washington is ahead of a lot of places as far as being able to bike around,” Conway says, citing companies like Capital Bikeshare, the host of new dockless bikesharing options, as well as the area’s many bike paths and group rides. “They’ve been doing it in Europe for many years, and it’s about time they do it here in the U.S.”

Conway hopes the new storefront will do its part to expand that trend, too. “I like to think over the past 46 years that we’ve progressed and enhanced everything,” Conway says. “If you need hardware, bikes, or coffee, we’d love to see everybody. We’re glad we’re in the neighborhood.”

Previously:
Photos: The Wharf Officially Opens With Pomp, Circumstance, And A Steady Drizzle
Photos: Inside Politics And Prose Bookstore’s New Shop At The Wharf
Photos: Take A First Look At The Anthem, D.C.’s Huge New Music Venue
By Land Or By River: City Officials Promote New Options To Get To The Wharf