Cranknstein to close Saturday after 4 years in Old Town

Fort Collins will say goodbye to one of its iconic businesses Saturday as Cranknstein coffee house, beer bar and bike shop closes its doors for good.

Cranknstein's owners, Evan Rau and Susan Dalke, announced in January that they were looking to sell their near 4-year-old business at 215 N. College Ave.

They didn't find a buyer, but neighboring Scrumpy's cider house will lease the building starting May 1.

"There's some sadness to it, but ultimately it's a positive step," Rau said regarding closing.

On Friday he was standing in the bar's back bike shop, fixing a wheel, while James Graef, across from him, worked on a pair of skis. Dalke and a handful of baristas were up front taking orders and talking to customers, with a business-as-usual vibe.

Over the speakers, The Cranberries, Aretha Franklin and Ray LaMontagne's "You Are the Best Thing" played for the dozen or so patrons who had gathered by lunchtime.

Romie Sidabras sat at the bar with one of his favorite Cranknstein perks — a free copy of The New York Times newspaper. He said he has been coming to Cranknstein most mornings since it opened.

"This is kind of my exclusive hangout," he said. "I think they established a neat niche in the coffee house sector."

Sidabras and other Cranknstein regulars liked the fact that they could get a coffee, or a beer, or food — maybe listen to music — and have their bike repaired or their skis tuned while they were at it.

"I come here just to enjoy the atmosphere," he added.

Cranknstein opened in 2011 and over the years has filled a concrete and cavernous space with cozy furniture and eclectic knick-knacks. A model pterodactyl hangs from the ceiling, along with a handful of bike prototypes. Canvased portraits line the walls, which are covered in weathered wood planks.

"There's just no other place that we have the same rapport with the baristas," said longtime customer Anna Lebedda. "You can tell there's a lot of love that goes into running it."

Lebedda said she and her husband stumbled upon the shop two weeks after it opened, when they were newly married.

It was the first place they came after leaving the hospital with their newborn daughter, and they celebrated her first two birthdays at Cranknstein. She even gets a special dinosaur mug when her parents bring her in for steamed milk "steamers."

"It just feels like truly Fort Collins," Lebedda said of the business, adding, "We're more of the morning crowd. We're not cool enough for the evening crowd."

By night, Cranknstein would convert into a live music venue and beer bar.

Rau said he and Dalke have planned a full day of activities for their last day in business, though.

A coffee cupping, or tasting, will start at 11 a.m. Saturday, followed by a group bike ride leaving from the shop at 2 p.m., weather permitting. The Blind Alley Troubadours will play around 9 or 10 p.m. and the bar will stay open until 2 a.m.

When asked where they would get their coffee once Cranknstein closed, Lebedda and Sidabras said they didn't know yet.

"I come here," Sidabras said. "It's not like I'm out exploring for other places to spend my mornings."