Saddle up, cyclists, coffee lovers, and foodies – there’s a new joint opening Monday in Calabasas that you’re going to want to visit. You may not want to leave.
Located on Calabasas Road across from the Leonis Adobe in “Old Town” Calabasas, Pedalers Fork is a coffee shop, bike shop, farm-to-table restaurant, and bar, with a patio next to a creek (did you even know there is a creek there?) and an epic bike rack in the back. It’s the brain child of Robbie Schaeffer, who is an avid cyclist and wanted a place where he could meet his cycling pals early in the morning for a cuppa joe, then hang out after their ride for a delicious meal and/or beer, likely both. He teamed up with restaurateur Tim Rettele, who happened to be visiting Calabasas in search of an appropriate place to lay his beloved family dog to rest (did you know there is a pet cemetery there?!) and spotted the vacant building, and the rest is history.
Last week I attended a media preview dinner at Pedalers Fork. I actually walked around gasping in delight because the place is breathtaking. It’s airy, aesthetically pleasing, filled with eye-catching details and reclaimed materials. The creekside location and the patio made me instantly envision a future meetup.
It was a glorious, sunlit evening, and the cocktails, designed by noted LA-area mixologist Aidan Demarest, were flowing nicely. Based on my personal preferences, he selected for me the Cabacito – basically a margarita made with fresh grapefruit, which was delicious.
Menu choices for the evening included a baby kale Caesar salad with almond tofu Caesar dressing (delicious and incredibly garlicky), picturesque steamed mussels, braised beef with roasted Asian pear, and apple berry cobbler with almond milk sorbet. PF’s sommelier poured wines with our meal, and there was a pinot noir in there whose name I cannot recall but whose taste I will remember forever.
Knowing that everything on our plates was locally grown or sourced and obtained by special Pedalers Fork food procurement vans so that it could be as freshly served as possibly made the meal extra delicious, at least to me. We capped off the evening with coffee drinks from the coffee shop, and a pound of Kickstand Blend Ten Speed Coffee was in our gift bags, and is now on my kitchen counter waiting to start off my morning tomorrow.
I say it all the time, but it bears repeating: we live in a beautiful area. I’m delighted by Pedalers Fork opening a business here that blends in, takes advantage of local services, respects the town and the natural beauty surrounding it, and provides a gathering place for locals and a destination for visitors. I can’t wait to go back.
Pedalers Fork
23504 Calabasas Rd
Calabasas, California 91302
(818) 225-8231
More photos from the press dinner:
