Spoke started as a proof of concept in early 2015 as the first combination bike shop/restaurant/cafe in Los Angeles
Spoke is the first business of its kind to set up a permanent location along the LA River Bike Path to provide a comfortable, welcoming space for cyclists, pedestrians, neighborhood residents, and others. We share a 150 foot border with the LA River bike path and our one-of-a-kind, mostly outdoor spot is perfect for large groups. We provide top quality food and drinks, expert bike repairs, a large bicycle rental fleet, and a carefully curated array of accessories. We also sell records and T-shirts and host a variety of music, art, and community events.
We started out as an event space and bike shop with refreshments on the weekends in the spring of 2015 and in 2017 expanded to a full service restaurant with vibrant food choices, nano-batch locally roasted coffee, refreshing drinks, and California beers and wines. We serve breakfast, sandwiches, salads, bowls, and snacks. We cater to all types of diets, including vegan and gluten free. Prior to opening Spoke, the owners, Laurie Winston and Rich Latronica, lived in Atwater Village and spent most of their free time riding bikes around town and discovering new places to eat and drink. They frequented the LA River bike path and always thought it would be great to have someplace to stop right on the path. When they found Spoke’s current location in Frogtown, they knew they had discovered the perfect spot to create the spot they wished existed. A lot of hard work, sweat, love, and community connections came together to build the Spoke we all know and love today.
Our mission is to create a beautiful space that enhances our local community by providing a gathering place for LA River cyclists, pedestrians and neighbors to enjoy quality cuisine and crafted beverages while supporting the arts and encouraging relationships. We believe in sustainability, healthy living, and supporting local makers who share our values.
One of our main goals is to help create a more bikeable, walkable, livable Los Angeles. We strongly believe that when people get out of their cars, they become healthier, happier, and life gets better. We get to know our neighbors, we get to know our city, we even get to know ourselves a little better. We are located at the end of a dead-end street that butts up against the LA River Bike Path in Elysian Valley, also known as Frogtown, a unique neighborhood with very limited commercial businesses. We chose this location largely to provide a place for people to go who live in the neighborhood and for bike path users. We invite you to come discover this special area and see for yourselves what we are all about. Parking is very limited and it is easier to reach us on the path than the street. We encourage you to arrive by bicycle, on foot, or by other forms of non-motorized transportation whenever possible.
Then to Now
