The up-and-coming North Limestone neighborhood has been quietly cultivating growth for years now, and two new businesses are adding energy and momentum along the area’s northern end.
Broomwagon, a bike shop and café, has opened and Wild Fig Books and Coffee, an independent bookstore formerly located on Leestown Road, expects to open its doors soon on the 700 block of North Limestone.
“There’s just too much happening on North Limestone to pass up an opportunity to be right there in the middle of it,” said Crystal Wilkinson, who along with partner Ronald Davis owns Wild Fig.
It’s a stretch of North Limestone that already boasts several businesses: Fleet Street Chop Shoppe, Minton’s at 760, Charmed Life Tattoo Parlor and Vintage Creations on Lime, to name a few.
Wild Fig Books and Coffee, formerly Wild Fig Books of 1439 Leestown Road, is set to open in late August at 726 N. Limestone.
Davis and Wilkinson closed their Meadowthorpe location in February after three and a half years in business. It wasn’t long before they decided to give it another shot at a new location.
“There’s lots of excitement, lots of new energy over there, and we’re just really excited about it,” Wilkinson said.
Davis said he knew from operating the Meadowthorpe store that many of their customers lived in the NoLi area.
Davis and Wilkinson said Wild Fig also will offer a selection of coffee choices, as well as some food options, including baked goods.
Fans of the previous store can expect some calculated changes. Wilkinson and Davis have cut the store’s inventory from 25,000 books to about 4,000, a number that reflects the smaller store space as well as the more specific North Limestone community they will serve. Wilkinson feels that graphic novels and philosophy might be particularly popular in the area. In another change from the previous incarnation, books at the new Wild Fig mostly will be new with a some used books mixed in, instead of the other way around.
Wilkinson and Davis said they are excited about the possibilities. The store will also include a literary boutique, where items such as bags and T-shirts containing literary references will be sold.
“As business owners, we want to turn a profit. Everyone does. But we also, as artists, as writers, as community people, want to be of service to the community,” said Wilkinson.
Broomwagon, at 800 N. Limestone, is a hybrid bike shop and coffee shop, described by co-owner James Gonyer as “a bike shop catered to people who are looking for an environment that’s a little more warm and open.” Lexington interior designer Althea Wiggs helped achieve the look and feel.
The term “broomwagon” refers to the final car in a road race that sweeps up all the broken bikes and tired riders. It’s a play on the idea that Gonyer, along with co-owners Adam Drye and Tiffany Morrow, are helping customers get to the finish, regardless of whether that involves fixing a bent wheel, or providing a daily fix of caffeine.
“It started as a bike shop but it took the form of a café very quickly,” said Drye. “It’s a symbiotic relationship between the two of them.”
The concept, which they had been kicking around for years, began with the simple objective of making a more comfortable bike shop. In order to accomplish that, they needed to have things for customers to do while they waited on service, hence the addition of a café.
Along with coffee from local roaster Magic Beans, the café provides milkshakes, smoothies, teas and lemonades, as well as sandwiches, salads and eventually beer.
“You don’t have to come just for the bike shop,” said Drye. “The dual nature of it allows people who are not bicyclists to come into a bike shop and feel comfortable.”
The Broomwagon owners feel that having a café allows the shop to be more economically viable through the winter, a time where bike shops generally see a decline in customers.
The location on the corner of North Limestone and Loudon Avenue provides plenty of car and bike traffic. Because the area has a limited sidewalks and a high amount of bike activity, the owners plan to raise awareness for an increased number of bike lanes.
The hours will more closely resemble that of a typical café rather than a bike shop, though both sides of the business will operate simultaneously. Gonyer has said he wants the shop to be open Sundays due to the fact that most bike shops are closed.
Griffin VanMeter, a North Limestone resident and landlord of the buildings occupied by both Wild Fig and Broomwagon, is confident both operations with serve as strong community hubs and contribute to an already thriving community.
“I think it’s a great place to open a business, because the foot traffic is here, all these neighborhoods can support it, and then each one just adds to the previous one,” said VanMeter. “There’s this existing neighborhood, and it keeps on getting better.”
He pointed to the work by the nonprofit North Limestone Community Development Corporation, which operates the popular Night Market among other initiatives, as key to the area’s success.
“A lot of the work they’re doing is really helping improve the livability of the neighborhood,” said VanMeter.