A new gourmet burger joint pedaled its way into Victoria last November. The Pink Bicycle focuses on homemade food and local ingredients. When Morgan Hradecky – a former bicycle courier – and his friends decided to fulfill their long-time dream of owning a restaurant, Hradecky knew from the smiles he received pedaling around town that people responded positively to his pink bicycle. “We wanted a logo that wasn’t obviously about food,” said Hradecky, “and we loved the connotations of finding your own path, and sustainable living.”
The Pink Bicycle offers a range of tasty burgers at prices a family can afford. Hradecky said it’s his goal to try and wean people away from their corporate fast-food takeout. At certain times of the year, seasonal ingredients produced on Vancouver Island are used in the dishes, even the wheat used to make the buns. The restaurant gets its beef, mutton and bison from animals reared less than 100 miles away from the restaurant. Hradecky personally inspects the living conditions of the animals to ensure they are ethically raised. And with all the food in the restaurant prepped daily, it doesn’t get much fresher than this.
Hradecky said keeping food costs down is a big challenge when local ingredients are still much more expensive than imports. In these tough economic times, he also believes that it is important to keep reinvesting in other local businesses. The business plan of the Pink Bicycle is to grow slowly, developing a loyal customer base that will return to the restaurant several times a week. “Our profit margin isn’t as large as it could be, but to us it’s more important to create a business that is ethical and sustainable,” said Hradecky.
Eventually, Hradecky would like to see the business expand to include deliveries in the downtown area, giving people an option for takeout other than pizza or Chinese food. “What could be better advertising than a fleet of pink delivery bikes?” said Hradecky. So keep your eyes open for some pedal powered burgers coming your way.
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