Chandeliers fashioned from cycle chains. Walls with leather-seat hangings. Tables supported by wheel rims. A row of bar stools built out of cycle frames. Soups, salads, sandwiches, pastas and beverages. That, in a nutshell, is the Ciclo Café, South Chennai’s latest hangout.

This den for cycling enthusiasts — pedestrians and motorists are also welcome — is in the midst of a soft launch. It is a creation of TI Cycles of the Murugappa Group and Absolute, a restaurant and service-apartment operator based in the city.

Apart from serving food and non-alcoholic drinks, the café will also have an attached store retailing super-premium cycles.

High-end cycles

The store will feature international brands such as Bianchi, Cannondale, Mongoose and Schwinn, all marketed by TI Cycles in India. The prices range from about ₹20,000 to over ₹3.5 lakh.

TI Cycles, one of India’s best-known cycle makers, will peddle the cycles through its Track & Trail unit. Absolute Specialty Foods will handle matters on the food and beverage front, dishing out continental cuisine and an array of snacks and brews.

The restaurant, which can seat 70, has cosy enclosures for families, open seating for large groups, and even a few single seats for loners.

The brainchild of Arun Alagappan, Managing Director of TI Cycles, the café has already created a buzz in the city’s cycling community.

Ashish R Thadani of Absolute, which also operates the L’Amandier chain of restaurants, said that after Alagappan proposed the idea, it did not take long for things to fall into place.

Thadani, himself a cycling enthusiast, said the Ciclo Café will be a hub for enthusiasts who participate in group rides and other regular cycling events.

A pilot of sorts

KC Ramamoorthy, Vice President–International Businesses, TI Cycles, said the company is keen on making the concept a success here and taking it to other cities. The idea is to create an environment where cycling enthusiasts can gather and shoot the breeze with their ilk.

TI Cycles has a 40 per cent share in India’s super-premium bicycle segment, which consists of international brands. The market size is estimated to be about 40,000 units a year.

Enthusiasts are hopeful that Ciclo Café will nurture the growing interest in cycling among the denizens of this Southern metropolis. Judging by the gaggle of youngsters hanging loose at the watering hole on a Friday evening, it just may.

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