INDEX Kids Pages Neighbourhoods Pets . Valentine’s Day Feature 3000-block Mountain Hi Bob Mackin Business Reporter bmackin@nsnews.com WHEN renovations are fin- ished, Lynn Valley’s Bicycle Sports Pacific will be one of the North Shore’s largest peddier of peddie-machines for use on peaks and streets. “Well be able to carry more of a full line of bicyeles, so we'll have road bikes, hybrids, terrain bikes,” said manager Bob Gifford. “Up to now we've concentrated mainly on moun- tain bikes. It'll stili be at the focus, as we're right at the entrance to the trails. There are people up here chat tide road) bikes aswell.” The five vear old store will be 4,000 square feet when expansion is com- plete, a size similar to its sister location in Vancouver. In his years in the business, Gifford has seen suspension improve and the roliferation of less-expensive disc rakes. “The higher technology is coming more available to the common recre- ational rider,” he said. Who fuels the mountain bikers? Tommy’s Restaurant. The bistro tucked around the cor- ner from Bicycle Sports Pacitic is a breakfast and lunch hangout for the two-wheeled crowd and others in Lynn Valley. Trisha Sibson and Rick Slowski began the cosy eatery and catering concern two years ago. “Ie’s home cooking, real food,” Sibson said. “it doesn’t come out of a bag. The food’s good and service is helpful, no surprises.” Sunday brunch features a guitarist who strums tunes next the front door. It has ample seating inside and a selec- tion of cables out on the sidewalk. “We've got a huge breakfast crowd, a real mountain bike follow- ing,” said Slowski. He said they're aitracted by the generous portions of homemade food, which he describes as borderless cuisine. Tommy’s serves an eclectic mix of Indian, Ukrainian, Italian, Mediterranean and Californian-style dishes. It’s open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. week- days, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 9 am, to 2 p.m. Sunday. The rest of the time is focussed on catering. “We've made the corner pocket into a real viable business, we have a very thriving catering business on the side and party rentals. We're excep- tionally busy.” Memoties Antiques’ owner Mark Pender runs his antique store in an antique building. ‘The Fronime Block was erected by area pioneer Harold Fromme in 1912. It's old by our standards, but not his. Pender is a native of England and second- generation antiques merchant. His dad taught him about the industry before he came to Canada. “There's a stvle difference on cer- tain lines,” he said. “But I would say the biggest difference is we don’t run across things that are 200, 390, 400 years old like you would all over Europe and in particular the U.K. For the higher-end merchandise, there NORTH SHORE hway, North Vancouver shing z NEWS COMMUNITY LIFE EWS photcs Cindy Goodman BICYCLE Sports Pacific manager Bob Gifford is looking forward to the compiation of the store's expansion. It’s a poputar store for mountain bikes, parts and accessories, just down the hill from major North Shore biking traifs. isn’t a great marketplace for it here. Whereas there is in Europe and the eastern seaboard of the U.S.~ The store has been in the former Barker’s Hardware location tor 25 years. Pender has run it for the past 10. He stocks an estimated 60,000 items in the store. You name it, Pender’s got it. “Ir’s all for sale. I've done it long enough that I try not to get too attached to particular things.” Pender said he enjoys hearing peo- ple’s stories of how they came to pos- sess the items he buys. He also gets to meet the odd Hollywood star. Goldie Hawn bought a table from him five years ago. Rutger Hauer didn‘t buy MARK Pender of Memories Antiques is a second-generation purveyor of antiques from England. anything, but he did send him an autographed photo. “He walked in the store. He was making a film up at Britannia Beach, maybe five to six years ago, and | talked to him briefly. I had rented some stuff to the set decorator that wes doing the show, When the stuff came back, he popped a photograph and signed it to me in a manila enve- Jope and he spelled my name wrong (Marc), the European way.” Lynn Valley Barbershop’s Mike Abbas Abhroudi has an antique of his own. He has been offered $2,000 for the reliable 70-year-old chair which was there fong before he took over when its former proprietor retired three- and-a-half years ago. But it’s not for sale. “Lots of people have been sitting on this chair and there are maybe three generations — grandfather, father, grandson — they continue to come and sit down, [ve got lots of offers to sell, but I tell then: all the time: As long as the bar- bershop is here, this chair is here.” Abhroudi, whose wife runs Veneta Tailors MIKE Abba next door, said the chair isn’t the only special thing at the barbershop. The customers — young and old — make his job a pleasure. On days when his See Customers next page at the Lynn Valley Barbershop. He likes it so much, it’s not for sale.