"When I saw the post about the Launch Local! program, I was so excited," Chris "Six" Nguyen told Western City magazine in March. "I have been wanting to put my energy into our community, and here was my chance." That magazine profile describes Nguyen as an avid cyclist who had worked in the bike industry for years. It also says the cost and complexity of running his own storefront had always put him off.
His shop, Six Cycles, held its grand opening on Friday, October 9, 2026, at 636 El Camino Real, Suite E. According to Western City, it's South San Francisco's first bicycle shop in more than a decade. The City lowered the cost of opening it, so the shop's first year also tests whether that approach can fill more storefronts.
A decade without a shop, and a Friday afternoon to fix it
The grand opening ran from 3 to 4 p.m. and was free. The City of South San Francisco hosted it. A single bike shop got a city-hosted opening because Six Cycles is the first business in Launch Local!, a pilot from the City's Economic & Community Development Department. The program was built to fill vacant storefronts and bring new businesses to the city's commercial corridors.
Western City says those corridors took a hit during COVID-19 and still haven't returned to pre-pandemic levels. The usual way to fill an empty storefront is to wait for an owner who can absorb a full-price, long-term lease. Launch Local! takes a different route. It lowers the price of trying.
What $1,600 a month gets you on El Camino Real
The terms explain why a shop like this could open here. Under the sublease the City Council approved, Six Cycles gets:
- Base rent of $1,600 a month, plus triple-net expenses. During the initial term those expenses are capped at $0.50 per rentable square foot per month, with a 15% property-management fee on common-area maintenance costs.
- A 12-month initial term and a $3,200 security deposit. Extensions are at the City's discretion and depend on performance and whether the space is available.
- Up to $10,000 in tenant-improvement rent credit. The final amount depends on verified bids and eligible work.
- Technical support through the launch, according to Western City.
The key comparison is $1 per square foot against an estimated market rate of about $2.50, as reported by Western City. That puts the base rent at about 40% of what the space would likely cost on the open market. The City's records describe the unit as roughly 1,600 square feet, though the lease also lists 1,387 rentable square feet. Either way, the rent is fixed at $1,600.
The City can offer those terms because it controls the space. City materials call the storefront City-owned. The sublease is more precise. The City is itself the tenant under a 2011 master lease from MP South City, L.P., and the commercial premises are listed as 634 El Camino Real, inside the building known as 636 El Camino Real. The City sits in the landlord's position and charges below-market rent. That's the core mechanism of the pilot.
How a bike shop won the space
The City opened the unit to applications and scored each concept. Here's the order of events from the City's own records:
- February 12, 2025. The City Council held a study session on the program.
- March 26, 2025. The Council approved Launch Local!. The approved terms already included $1-per-square-foot triple-net rent, the $10,000 credit ceiling, and minimum operating hours.
- April 1 to May 30, 2025. The request for interest was open. Applications were scored on concept strength, readiness, financial capacity, activation potential, and completeness.
- October 22, 2025. The Council approved the sublease with Nguyen's business, which the staff report calls "Six Bicycles."
- October 9, 2026. Six Cycles held its grand opening. Earlier coverage had pointed to a spring 2026 opening.
Eligibility rules required retail, service, or business-operations experience or a clear operating plan, plus the ability to staff the shop and cover operating costs. Priority went to local small businesses and to entrepreneurs who had completed a Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center program at the City's Economic Advancement Center.
The City's two documents give different applicant counts. The October 2025 staff report counted six applications, five of them eligible, and two finalists. The City's September 2026 announcement says Nguyen was chosen from eight applicants. In its written case for the shop, the staff report points to the lack of bicycle retail and repair in the city and to the shop's fit with the City's active-transportation goals. Western City's profile adds the rest of the picture, including Nguyen's years working in the bike industry. City records credit Nguyen with more than a decade of business-development and bicycle-retail experience.
What you can bring through the door
The City's staff report described a full-service shop with repairs, tune-ups, rentals, and sales, plus group rides and maintenance workshops. The lease allows bicycle sales, maintenance and repair, parts and accessories, rentals, workshops, demonstrations, community events, and educational programs. Those are the uses the lease permits and the City expected. Before you wheel in a specific bike, such as an e-bike, check with the shop directly, since none of the City documents spell that out.
The same goes for hours. We couldn't find a posted weekly schedule. The lease requires the shop to be open at least seven hours a day, five days a week, sometime between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., and it encourages 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Calling ahead before a weekend tune-up is the safe move.
The location may be the strongest part of the bet. City staff describe the unit as next to the Centennial Way Trail and South San Francisco High School. If you've followed how the Centennial Way trail keeps adding to itself, a repair shop at its edge fills an obvious gap. Before now, a flat tire on that path meant a trip out of town for a fix.
Twelve months to prove the model
On September 24, 2026, the League of California Cities gave Launch Local! a 2026 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence, in the Partners Award for Excellence in City-Business Relations category. The City's announcement says the award will be presented locally at the October 14, 2026 City Council meeting.
"We look forward to building on what we've learned through the pilot and exploring opportunities to expand the program in the future," City Manager Laura Snideman said in that announcement. Staff are drafting a possible expansion and expect to bring it to the Council in the coming months. In earlier Council discussion, staff mentioned bringing in private property owners and additional retail locations. No site list, schedule, or budget has been published.
That's why the shop's first year matters beyond its own counter. The award recognizes how the program was designed. Whether it grows will depend on a 12-month lease with a discretionary extension at 634 El Camino Real, and on whether a bike shop with below-market rent can build enough steady business to keep going. The San Mateo Daily Journal covered the first tenant's selection. The Council will see the expansion proposal within months of the shop's opening.
For more on what's changing around town, our South San Francisco neighborhood guide and recent posts on Grand Avenue's dining scene track other storefronts as they fill.
We keep track of storefront changes like this one along El Camino Real block by block. If you'd like to know how changes like Six Cycles show up in what your own South San Francisco home is worth, Bryan Cruz and Rey Ancheta would be glad to walk you through it. Start with our Instant Home Valuation and we'll follow up with a conversation about your street.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
