ANDERSONVILLE — Johnny Sprockets is ditching Edgewater for Andersonville.
The critically acclaimed full-service bike shop at 1052 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. is closing down on Feb. 23 and moving to 5434 N. Clark St. The plan is to open in Andersonville by mid-March, according to owner Manuel Tenorio.
Johnny Sprockets, which also has a Lakeview location, has occupied its Edgewater location for about 13 years, and was able to build a strong and loyal customer base, said Tenorio, a Lincoln Square resident.
"But over the years some of our customers mentioned how it was difficult getting to that location," Tenorio said. "The biggest problem we had was that it was too far northeast for a lot of our customers to get to, so we're trying to get a little closer to our customer base."
The new shop comes with a lot more street parking than what's available on Bryn Mawr, and is more accessible by bike given its location on Clark, which is "basically a big bike route," Tenorio said.
"Another thing: The foot traffic that we were getting there was not as good as, for example, the foot traffic we were getting at our Lakeview store," Tenorio added.
Tenorio said he has a particular fondness for Andersonville.
"It's a neighborhood I spent a lot of time in as a kid and as a teenager, so it's exciting to be in a neighborhood where I have a ton of memories," Tenorio said.
Johnny Sprockets employee Phil Szyjka, 32, said after working in Edgewater for six years it was "exciting" to be moving to Andersonville.
Szyjka said he and other employees have spent a lot of time recently packing in preparation for the move.
There hasn’t been much of a reaction from customers regarding the move, he said, but “hopefully they’ll follow us."
