GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) -- As many businesses shutter due to social isolation amidst the coronavirus outbreak, bike shops are deemed essential, and thus remain open.
"We're very fortunate that as a bike shop, we're still considered essential to the transportation and infrastructure," Kurt Schwiesow, owner of Pete's Garage, said. "People still need to get on their bikes and get around and get outside."
Coronavirus has changed their mentality as a community-driven business. They're known for Tuesday night group bike rides and embracing the outdoors in Green Bay.
"We've had to really look at this, kind of understand the virus transmission and change the day-to-day operations to make sure that we keep ourselves safe, and keep the customers safe," Schwiesow said.
The store remains open, but with locked doors and asking customers not to browse in person at this time, instead opting for appointments and mobile servicing.
"When the customer comes in with their bike, we take the bike, we recieve it with gloved hands, sanitize the bike -- the high touch surfaces, seats, handlebars, things like that," Schwiesow said. "And then also, when the customer leaves, we make sure that door handles, point of sales surfaces, countertops, are being sanitized."
To accommodate the Safer at Home mandate, Pete's Garage is driving their mobile servicing van around the Green Bay metro area, bringing repair services straight to customers. Riders can request appointments in their neighborhood by calling the store directly or messaging them on Facebook.
