Wheel & Sprocket buys Bay View site for bike shop

Wheel & Sprocket has bought a Bay View building where it plans to open its first Milwaukee bike shop — with a possible restaurant — by late next year.

An affiliate of the well-known regional bike shop chain bought a 10,800square-foot warehouse, at 187 E. Becher St., from Brookfield-based Cobb Real Estate Holdings LLC for $695,000, according to state real estate records posted Tuesday.

Wheel & Sprocket in October received Plan Commission and Common Council approval to renovate the warehouse into a bike shop.

The company plans to complete all the design and pre-construction details by the end of January, “and start swinging hammers in March,” said Noel Kegel, co-owner.

Kegel said the shop will likely have a soft opening in either the fall or winter of 2018. A grand opening will likely be in spring 2019, he said.

The building will include the company offices and could include a restaurant and tavern. Kegel on Tuesday didn’t have any additional details on the possible restaurant.

Wheel & Sprocket’s entry into Milwaukee is a sign that more people are riding bikes, said Dave Schlabowske, Wisconsin Bike Fed deputy director. That’s in part due to new bike lanes and other steps to make the city more friendly to bicycle riders, he said.

Wheel & Sprocket operates four stores in the Milwaukee area, one in Oshkosh, one in Appleton and two in the Chicago suburbs. The company’s offices are in the Hales Corners store.

The company’s growth largely occurred under the ownership of Chris Kegel, who died in February from cancer at the age of 63. Wheel & Sprocket is now owed by his children, Noel and Amelia Kegel.

Chris Kegel was hired at Wheel & Sprocket as a bicycle mechanic in 1973, just a few weeks after the business opened in Hales Corners. By 1989, he had become president and owner, and eventually grew Wheel & Sprocket into a nationally known dealer.