Salvatore Mastantuono

By Dan Laxer
The Suburban

Another legendary NDG mainstay is leaving for greener pastures. But not because they want to. Bicycles MCW recently announced to the community that they are moving out of the neighbourhood.

The building where Bicycles MCW has been since 1980 was family-owned. But it was recently sold. The hope, owner Salvatore Mastantuono tells The Suburban, was that the shop would be able to stay right where it is for a fair rent. But the company that bought the building doesn’t want to keep the shop. It wants the storefront for what Mastantuono says is going to be a grocery store.

Unfortunately, Mastantuono wasn’t able to find an affordable location in the neighbourhood. So Bicycles MCW is off to a West Island location that has yet to be decided, either on St. John’s or St. Charles. Either way, it will be gone from its Sherbrooke Street location by the end of the month.

Bicycles MCW has a more than nine-decade history in NDG. The “MCW” comes from McWinnies, the shop’s original name. It started as a general fixit shop owned by Joseph McWinnie. He and his partner at the time, Fred Francolini – Mastantuono’s godfather – eventually focused on repairing and selling bicycles. And locksmithing, of course.

Both businesses survived under the Mastantuono family. Sal’s father and uncles Nick, Pino, and Bruno, took over the bicycle shop from McWinnie and Francolini, and Sal eventually took over the locksmithing business. His brother, Ricardo, is also involved, so it remains a Mastantuono family business. Even the guys who work in the repair shop who are not Mastantuonos are considered family.

Mastantuono says it was a tough decision to leave the neighbourhood. He remembers hanging around the original location just two blocks over, doing his first bicycle repairs as a boy. There are still customers who come in today that remember “Mr. McWinnie.” The spirit of the shop is the same as what many consider to be the spirit of NDG. Kids who couldn’t afford bike parts, or even a new bike, would come into McWinnie’s, and Nick would give them what they needed, and let them pay it off by working in the store. Sal says he’s the same. “Every now and then you give back. You build that relationship and you get to know people through the years, and you start to become friends, and it starts to become like a family.”

Nothing will change with the move, Mastantuono says.

The new location will have to be within budget. And they’ll have to make sure the layout is right for a shop like Bicycles MCW. Given that they are under the gun to move out by April 30, it is possible, says Mastantuono, that they may not open the new location until mid-May. But the online business will continue. And if they can they’ll still provide a pickup and drop-off service for repairs.

The locksmith business will be moving along with the bicycle shop. And maybe with a little piece of NDG as well. n