GIRACHA with Sayaka Matsue-Spudvilas
It’s no secret that coffee and bikes go together. They’re two subcultures that mesh seamlessly, apparently across all borders of culture and geography, and I knew I had to find this shop to meet the people behind the Osaka scene.
Looking like a scene out of one of Hayao Miyazaki’s future cycling-inspired films, with hundreds of colourful bike parts and accessories filling the entire space, I found Taira Negawa, the head barista, busily steaming away for his latest creation, a café latte.
In striking up a quick conversation about my project, and explaining that I’d love to learn more about their coffee/bike collaboration, he directed me to the owner, Sayaka, just as she followed me in with her little one, Cal.
I soon discovered that she had been a fixed-gear sport rider, and actually met her husband right around the corner from this very shop. Rene was also super into cycling and hailed from, you guessed it, Melbourne!
It was a match made in coffee cyclist heaven. She started out hosting some fixie [fixed gear] events in the city and really grew fond of the bike messenger culture. Messengers appeared to have a deep affinity for coffee, fashion, and seemed so open to everyone regardless of age, gender, cultural background.
It was this that eventually inspired the two of them to open a bike shop, which later turned into a coffee bike shop, and naturally developed into a strong community hub.
We’ve been doing the coffee for 1.5 years now, since 2014. The bikes since 2009 in December. Rene and I originally found it easy to open an online shop, but we had the opportunity to get an actual space on the 3rd floor of a nearby building while starting out.
Four years later, they had saved enough money to open their current space in a ground floor space in the neighbourhood, and renovated it to where it is today. It took Rene and Taira only 2 months to do it.
We do various group rides for advanced riders, beginners, or even a “just for fun”. Before and after we have coffee chats, and I’ve found that people really open up more. It’s a very natural progression to just come back to the bike shop for a cup.
And if there’s one thing that they really put focus on over latte art or spreading “coffee knowledge” it’s connecting with the customers. To Giracha, the relationships are very important.
Another amazing coffee and bicycle collaboration! Thanks for sharing your story, and if I ever do a bike trip across Japan, I’ll be sure to drop on by for another great espresso.
FOOTNOTES
Also take a look at their online shop for all your cycling needs: http://tracksupermarket.com/