Vancouver bike repair shop owner cites ‘runaway housing costs’ as reason for closure

Vancouver’s housing crisis isn’t just driving people out of their homes, it’s driving people out of business.

Flat Fix, a community bike shop that operated for four years in East Vancouver, closed its doors on May 27, citing “runaway housing costs” that made it impossible to pay staff appropriately.

“Our goal here was to offer affordable bike service to the community while paying our staff a living wage. This is no longer possible in Vancouver due to runaway housing costs,” Flat Fix’s owner Andrea Smith wrote in an Instagram post and on a sign posted on the now-shuttered storefront.

“This is not sustainable,” Smith continued. “Without housing for workers, there are no workers.”

The company initially employed five full-time bicycle mechanics. Eventually, only a single mechanic was left.