A new company has scooted onto 13th Street, ready to serve students during the new school year.
Gainesville’s New Scooters 4 Less opened a second location at 633 NW 13th St. last week, adding to its location at 118 NW 14th Ave. The new location takes the place of another scooter store, SwampCycles, which closed during the summer.
Manager Brad Austin said that the scooter company always wanted to be closer to campus, and when SwampCycles asked them if they would be interested in buying, they didn’t hesitate.
"We flipped the place in 30 days," Austin said. With a new roof, floor and counter as part of an entire renovation, he said, the company was ready for August, the busiest time of the year when new students flood the streets.
Despite the fact that the new address does not appear immediately in a Google search, Austin said, both stores have been busy.
"We’re just getting a lot of walk-in traffic," Austin said, adding that the new store has made 33 sales this week in the new location. He said he expects to exceed last year’s sales of 636 to 800 new scooters between the two locations.
UF applied physiology and kinesiology junior Alyssa Yambor-Maul said that she wouldn’t have purchased her new scooter Tuesday morning if she hadn’t been passing by 13th Street and seen the balloons and scooters outside the location.
"I had a scooter before, but I needed a new one," Yambor-Maul, 20, said.
After seeing New Scooters 4 Less, she decided to stop inside to take a look.
"It’s hard getting around without a scooter, and going to this location was the easiest way," she said.
Austin said that the store is offering three-year warranty and two-year road-side assistance with purchases of specific brands at both stores. Standing in front of bean bag couches and colorful chalkboard "guest walls" inside the new building, he said the company’s motto is to provide "U.C.E." - ultimate customer experience.
"Students are our livelihood," he said. "We get to come to work because of them."
