Inside the Bike Shed Moto Club, Restaurant, Retail Destination in Downtown L.A.
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The biker bar has gone haute in Los Angeles with the arrival of the impressive 30,000-square-foot Bike Shed Moto Co. club, restaurant, bar, lounge, gallery, tattoo parlor, barber and retail destination that opened Friday in the Arts District.
It’s a wonder it took so long, considering the role Hollywood has played in building the motorcycle mystique, from Marlon Brando in “The Wild One,” to Dennis Hopper in “Easy Rider” and Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor in “The Long Way Round” documentary series.
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Boorman, Tom Hardy, Woody Harrelson, Pom Klementieff and Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason are among the investors in Bike Shed, which is actually a British import. The first club, a 12,000-square-foot space, was opened in London’s Shoreditch neighborhood in 2015 by Anthony “Dutch” van Someren and his wife Vikki as an outgrowth of their motorcycle-focused blog.
L.A.’s Bike Shed is in a beautifully converted 1945 red brick warehouse building, covered in murals, with parking for 100 bikes in the courtyard outside, where classic cars and motorcycles are on display.
“L.A. is the natural center of motorcycle culture going back to the custom scene of people modifying their bikes and…there are more registered bikes in California than any country in the world,” Dutch van Someren said at Thursday night’s opening party.
Courtesy photo
The duo looked for two years for the location, from the coast to Hollywood. “But we realized the Arts District was kind of like Shoreditch with all the warehouses and young energy…the vibe is incredible,” he said, noting the Bike Shed’s proximity to Soho Warehouse, The Row retail center, Dover Street Market and Hauser & Wirth art gallery, not to mention hot restaurants like Bestia and Damien.
Shayan Asgharnia/Courtesy of Bike Shed Moto Co, Los Angeles
But unlike Soho House, Bike Shed is open to the public. “We’re for everybody and that’s what we love about the space we created in London,” Vikki van Someren added. “It’s about enjoying common ground, creativity and things that bring us together. You can appreciate a motorbike, or art or a watch or photography…we’re about motorcycle culture. We want to be the kind of place people drop in.”
At the packed party, guests took selfies with a Singer Porsche, a J Shia-customized bike, and another bike built by Nash Motorcycles that had a 1950s-meets-“Mad Max” feel.
The 325-seat restaurant, café, bar and lounge is open morning until midnight and serves avocado toast and a full English breakfast, plus meats alongside salads and vegan options. “We want to blend London and L.A. We call it Brit-ish, peppered with local flavor,” Vikki van Someren said of the vibe.
Courtesy of Bike Shed Moto Co, Los Angeles
There’s also a members’-only bar named Tommy’s, as well as a VIP lounge overlooking the 7,000-square-foot event and art gallery space designed to host art shows, collaborations, parties and experiences.
“I can see fashion shows, car launches, movie after parties,” said Vikki van Someren. “In London we’ve worked with everyone from Adidas to BMW to L’Oréal.”
In the service department is the Parts and Labour Barbershop and Paintshop Tattoo Studio, which will play host to rotating artists, while also always offering core $200 Bike Shed logo tattoos.
The 4,000-square-foot retail space features eight brands with bikes and gear: America’s Indian Motorcycles; British heritage brand Belstaff; British luxury watch brand Bremont Watch Co.; Italian moto brand Ducati; American electric bike maker and adventuring brand Super73; moto brand Royal Enfield; British multibrand retailer Urban Rider, as well as Bike Shed’s own branded denim and logowear.
Courtesy of Bike Shed Moto Co, Los Angeles
“Along with hospitality and events, we want to be an emporium, because this is a very physical culture where people need boots and gloves, jackets, jeans, helmets, goggles and T-shirts and want to fly the flags of the brands they love,” said Dutch.
In the store, shoppers can buy a $39 BSMC cap, a $2,995 Super73 electric bike or a $5,135 Bremont MBII watch.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Giles English, cofounder of U.K.-based Bremont, explaining how the project was delayed by COVID-19. “We knew the Bike Shed guys forever in England and we’ve had a store on Madison Avenue for years, but never outside New York. Our first brand ambassador was Charley Boorman, who went around the world with Ewan McGregor on motorbikes, and he’s an investor in this place,” he said, explaining that while the Bremont brand came out of the aviation world, it’s a celebration of all things mechanical — planes, cars, motorbikes — and watches.
The Belstaff corner marks the brand’s first presence on the West Coast — “a hugely important market for Belstaff,” said chief executive officer Fran Millar. “Our heart lies in moto, so I can’t think of a better partner to launch with in L.A.”
The van Somerens admit getting the place finished was a labor of love. After a straight month of every day and night to finish Bike Shed, they are heading back to London later in April.
“We’re being given a British Empire Metal, because during COVID[-19] we instigated a 1,400-strong courier service delivering medical, PPE and oxy meters, and worked with NHS doing testing. We did something like 30,000 deliveries in 22 months,” said Vikki van Someren. “We’re getting actual medals!”
Mathieu Bitton/Courtesy of Bike Shed Moto Co, Los Angeles
Launch Gallery: Inside the Bike Shed Moto Club, Restaurant, Retail Destination in L.A.
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