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Company’s new Capitol Hill headquarters will be bike shop + training facility + cafe — UPDATE: Métier

HSP hopes its new Capitol Hill facility will appeal to more than hardcore cyclists (Image: HSP)

HSP hopes its new Capitol Hill facility will appeal to more than hardcore cyclists (Image: HSP)

(Images: HSP) 

The E Union backside of Pike/Pine will continue its rapid transformation as a one of a kind bicycling and athlete training center and retailer makes plans to open its ambitious new headquarters on the street.

Construction is gearing up to begin on the new Herriott Sports Performance facility in the 4,400 square-foot former E Union home of Lifelong Thrift. The goal, founder Todd Herriott tells CHS, is to be open and hosting viewing parties by the time the 2015 Tour de France begins in July.

“We’re really excited to be in the neighborhood and have more visibility,” Herriott said.

HSP has operated its “Pro Shop” near Seattle Pacific University since 2009 and has grown into a business focused on the “lifestyle experience for athletes,” Herriott said, with trainers and workout equipment along with HSP’s cycle and repair shop.

Herriott is ready for a major expansion on E Union that will add to the elements he will move from West Nickerson and, he hopes, expand the base of athletes HSP appeals to.

“We consider everybody a high performance athlete,” Herriott said. “We think of ourselves as performance consultants.”

(Image: HSP)

(Image: HSP)

The new HSP will have a bike shop, repair center, training facility, and a cafe. HSP will also expand its inventory beyond road and racing bikes.

“We’re building a facility that is open to everybody,” Herriott said. “You don’t have to be a pro biker.”

The move is another good sign for efforts in the area around Pike/Pine from developers and property owners to diversify the business mix currently dominated by bars and restaurants. Earlier this month, CHS reported on a key element of Liz Dunn’s new Chophouse Row marketplace and office development moving into place as mobile tech company Glympse is preparing to make its headquarters in the new 11th Ave building.

It also adds to changes in blocks south of E Pike where new development is being joined by new business projects and increased investment. Later this year, a giant new Bright Horizons day care facility will open on E Seneca. The Central Agency building has opened with Lark making its new home in the food and drink complex. Later this year, Optimism Brewing will open its beer production facility, tasting room, and food truck park on E Union at Broadway.

In a burst of bike-y retail activity, the HSP news also follows our scoop last week on Public Bikes signing on to open on E Pine this spring with its first store outside of the Bay Area. The demographics should give both ventures a fighting chance.

Nestled among massive new apartment projects complete and in-progress and the kids at Seattle U, Herriott and HSP will have a growing pack of youthful, fitness-enthused tenants for neighbors — and customers. Customers will also be only a few blocks from the Broadway bikeway and, later this year, the 23rd Ave greenway will run north-south just a good hill-ride away on E Union.

Herriott said he was’t originally planning on Capitol Hill for HSP’s move, thinking the neighborhood’s rents would be out of reach. But Lifelong Thrift’s move to Broadway opened up a rare opportunity of a building on Capitol Hill large enough to house an ambitious athletic facility but not targeted for redevelopment. In addition to the seven-story apartment building being built across the street from HSP’s future home, Renee Erickson’s new Capitol Hill project is also under construction in the area. Considering the price tags on some of the road bikes HSP sells, some might find it fitting that the Ferrari and Maserati of Seattle dealership is also right across the street.

Meanwhile, HSP’s new landlord Alex Rosenast knows a bit about new era headquarters/training facilities as his Golazo sports drink company made its home — and home field — on E Pike for a few years before development finally pushed the company off the Hill.

Herriott said his hope is to create a training and cycling center that appeals to athletes of all types. The facility will sell memberships and employ trainers and running specialists to with customers one and one and in classes.

Like the athletes he hopes HSP will train, the move and expansion is all part of taking Herriott’s company to the next level.

“We opened up the shop to sell bikes. We’re expanding that base a bit,” Herriott said. “We’re creating a lifestyle experience for athletes.”

HSP will open at 1017 E Union this summer. You can learn more at hspseattle.com.

UPDATE 9/22/2015: The company announced today that its new Capitol Hill venture will be called Métier — “a cafe, training gym, cycling club, bicycle pro shop and service center at its core.”

Here’s the announcement:

Métier Racing & Coffee, a new athletic training and lifestyle destination, is coming to Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Today we’re happy to announce that it will open its doors for business in October.

Métier, a word literally defined as “one’s calling,” is a new training and retail concept with roots in cycling, that will offer a big range of services for athletes of all interests and abilities.

In short, Métier is a place where you can exercise, eat, grab a beer or coffee, find great equipment, and have your bicycle serviced by some of Seattle’s best mechanics. In the broader sense, Métier is a home for those who strive to be better, and for those whose sport isn’t just a hobby, but a lifestyle.

Métier is the next step for Todd Herriott and David Richter who have been envisioning a facility like this since starting Herriott Sports Performance (HSP), a premier cycling shop and training center, in 2006.

From the start, HSP was a leading resource for people who are serious about competition, cycling and triathlon, specifically. While that won’t change at Métier, Herriott and Richter aim to engage a larger audience.

“We’ve aligned all of the right pieces – the team members, the space, the resources – to develop the concept that we’ve long wanted to
create,” Herriott stated. “We have a team with skills that transcend cycling. It just so happens that cycling is our heartbeat. We want people of all interests to find something they can dig at Métier.”

The new venture –an impressive 12,500 square-foot, multi-level facility on Capitol Hill’s Union Street –will house a gym with men’s and women’s locker room facilities, a bicycle service center, retail space and café. But Métier is much more than a rebranding and expansion of HSP – it’s a whole new concept for a new, wider audience.

“We hope that people of all interests and abilities can use Metier as a place they want to hang out – train in the gym with top-notch consultants, take a yoga class, check out new bikes and equipment, have a drink or watch a game or a race on the big screen,” Herriott said.
Moving to the vibrant Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle is an integral part of attracting that new audience.

“We looked at many different options, and really wanted a central location. A good meet-in-the-middle place for people in Seattle, and those coming from the Eastside, too,” said Herriott. “We found our ideal location on Capitol Hill and we are excited about being part of its growth.”

Métier Racing & Coffee is located at 1017 E. Union St., Seattle, Wash., and is slated for opening a soft opening in mid October with a grand opening on Saturday, Nov. 7.
Check www.metierseattle.com for updates and also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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Joseph Singer
Joseph Singer
9 years ago

I’m a bit confused here. I thought Lifelong moved out because the owner of the property was going to develop it into something else (I assumed like the myriad of 5/1’s that have infected the hill.) Or maybe they got better “terms” with a new tenant.

Adam Loving
9 years ago

I hadn’t seen the earlier post about the “greenway.” I’m very excited for that.

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