I just swung by the PUBLIC Bikes shop at Pine and Summit, and the crew there is mopping the floors and putting the final touches on the renovated shop space. They opened quietly this afternoon, and their grand opening party planned for closer to June, said VP of Retail Bryan Shawley.

As we reported previously, the Seattle store is the company’s first location outside of their Bay Area headquarters. With a focus on stylish and mostly affordable bikes, Seattle has already proven to be a good market for the company with strong sales online and at Ride Bicycles on Roosevelt (a Seattle Bike Blog sponsor).

The shop feels more like a boutique than a more typical parts garage bike shop. And don’t expect to take your non-PUBLIC bike there for a tune-up. At least at first, they are only going to be servicing PUBLIC brand bikes (if you just need something small like a flat fixed, they can probably help you out).

PUBLIC Bikes will be open 11–7 Monday through Saturday, 11–6 Sunday.

And the new location is well-positioned to take advantage of Capitol Hill’s bike shop desert still left unfilled since Velo moved from 11th and Pine to 6th and Blanchard. The closest shops are 20/20 Cycle in the Central District or REI and Play-It-Again Sports in South Lake Union.

Speaking of 20/20, owner Alex Kostelnik has some pretty cool plans for an electric cargo bike shop at 23rd and Union. Stay tuned for more news about the Electric Lady.

Now the city just needs to accelerate plans for a protected bike lane on Pike, which would open the bikeablity flood gates on Capitol Hill. Imagine a complete and connected bike facility from Pike Place Market to Broadway and beyond…