Connellsville's Bicycle Bistro promises fresh food, fun

For a quick bite, delicious smoothie or just to sit back and kick up your heels, the newly opened Bicycle Bistro reportedly is a great spot to patronize.

Located on the West Side of Connellsville, near the Great Allegheny Passage, the restaurant is quaint and inviting, and owner Lori Echard is thrilled to see repeat customers.

“We are seeing more people now with the weather getting nicer, and we are starting to see some of the same people, which has been great,” Echard said. “Word of mouth has really proven to be a great asset to us here.”

Not a stranger to business, Echard and husband Sam Echard also own S.E. Construction in Connellsville and share ownership of the Greensburg Bike Shop with Brian Metzger.

However, the restaurant is their first food-and-beverage business.

“I really enjoy working with people, and we thought that this would be a nice way for me to work and still be able to stay home with our 7-year-old,” Lori Echard said of her daughter, Sara, who has become a fixture in the restaurant. “She really enjoys coming here and helping out.”

Echard also is aided by her mother, Eydie Blaney of Connellsville, who helps in preparing the food offered at the bistro.

The menu includes fresh, made-to-order paninis, salads, homemade soups and chili, and a variety of drinks, including smoothies.

“We brainstormed and picked out what we really liked and what we thought that other people would want,” Echard said. “We wanted to have something other than pizza or hamburgers and offer a little bit of a lighter fare.”

Echard said the smoothies have proven to be a big hit, and the customers also love the homemade chicken soup — a recipe prepared by her mother.

“People love our chicken soup,” Blaney said. “We thought that the chili would be the big seller, but it's the chicken soup.”

Paninis are proving to popular as well with the customers, who are given the opportunity to come in and make their own.

“They can pick their bread choice, their meat choice, their cheese choice, then add anything else that they would like,” Echard said. “Each panini is made-to-order, and they can get whatever they like.”

Echard said that many opt for a meatless selection, and she plans to focus more on offering a great, grilled cheese.

“There are a lot of ‘grilled cheese' places in the West and in the South, and people really seem to like them,” Echard said.

All of the salads are made fresh and made-to-order, too.

“We don't have anything pre-made or anything sitting around,” Blaney said. “It's all fresh and made when you place your order.”

The bistro will be offering different soups and salads on a regular basis. There are plans to take suggestions from the customers on what to add to the menu.

“I want to build on my menu,” Echard said, adding that for now she will serve lunch and gauge the expansion after she has been open for a while. “I would love to see this place full and then maybe we can start to move on to more hours from there.”

Echard hopes to add bike racks out front to accommodate those coming off the bike trail. She plans to offer cold drinks, snacks, granola bars and fresh fruit.

“We want to keep it fun here, keep it casual,” Blaney said. “We have good food, and we are friendly and fun, and this is a nice part of town. The people have been so nice, and we hope to see more and more come in and try us out.”

The Bicycle Bistro is at 306 W. Crawford Ave. It is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

All food items are available for takeout; delivery is available to businesses within the city. For details, call 724-603-2133.

Marilyn Forbes is a contributing writer for Trib Total Media.