It’s hard to find an area in and around St. Louis that doesn’t have an established bike shop — or two. That’s why, when Jeff Gerhardt decided to take the leap and open his own business, he knew he needed something different.

Cursed Bikes & Coffee combines bicycle sales, service and repairs with a full coffee bar that offers espressos, macchiatos, frappes and more, along with hot and cold tea, cold-brew coffee, fruit smoothies, Italian sodas and baked goods from Dottie’s Flour Shop.

“[The coffee bar] makes us stand apart,” said Gerhardt. “By making it a destination, people will hopefully want to check out the shop, see the bikes and come back with their own.”

The location, at the northwest corner of Jackson and Pershing, has been home to a number of failed restaurants, leading some to joke that the space was cursed. Gerhardt doesn’t see it that way and “just kind of embraced it.”

“We’ve lived next door for four years, and we love the community,” he said. “The space and location are great. The patio is fantastic. It’s an incredibly easy and safe route to Forest Park. The space is just not well suited for a restaurant.”

Gerhardt, who worked for several years at Big Shark Bicycle Company and also built his own custom bicycle frames under the name FeCycles, says he will add a fleet of 15 rental bikes soon to meet the request of customers.

Cursed Bikes & Coffee currently sells bike from Surly, All City and Reid, and plans to take on Norco, specifically its mountain bike line, which is not currently represented locally, according to Gerhardt.

Another new feature coming on-line later this summer: Gerhardt is subleasing part of his space to Taco Buddha, providing even more reason for people to pedal on over. “It works right in with cycling,” he said. “Who doesn’t like to grab a taco after a ride?”

Cursed Bikes & Coffee is open 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.