NOLO BOOKSTORE The brick-and-mortar store of Nolo Press will close its doors on April 28. Nolo Press was founded 45 years ago by two legal aid lawyers, Charles Sherman and Ralph Warner, with a mission to help anyone, especially low-income people, find plain-language answers to everyday legal questions. Starting with its first book on do-it-yourself divorce, published in 1971, Nolo Press’s self-help guides covered a range of legal topics including immigration, family and employment law, tenant/landlord issues, wills and trusts and management of intellectual property. The bookstore, in its West Berkeley location since 1980 in a former clock factory, begins a 50% off sale on April 17 through closing day. Nolo Press will continue to sell books online through its website. Leilani Drost, marketing manager at Nolo Press, said: “Nolo has enjoyed tremendous support for our Berkeley bookstore from the local community for many years. As a thank you to the community, we are offering some terrific deals before it closes, and we hope to see many of our neighbors stop by over the next few weeks.” Nolo Press, 950 Parker St., Berkeley 94710. Tel: 510-704-2248. Open Mon. through Fri., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
TREK BICYCLES BERKELEY Trek Bicycles has opened a new shop on Shattuck Avenue in the space that formerly housed Tuesday Morning, a discount home goods store. Trek opened for business on March 24, and had a grand opening on April 12, which included a visit by the “godfather of mountain biking,” Gary Fisher. Spokesperson for the company, Courtney Burke, said: “Trek is a global leader in the design and manufacture of the world’s best bicycles and cycling equipment. We opened a store here because Berkeley is one of the absolute best cycling communities in the country and we have been looking to expand our brand’s presence there for a long time. After we could not find an existing shop to partner with, we decided to open our own. Shattuck Avenue is a vibrant and main thoroughfare in town, close to campus, where we felt that we would be a great fit among local retailers and restaurants.” Trek Bicycle’s shop will sell sought-after bicycle brands Trek and Electra, as well as cycling accessories from Bontrager and other major brands. Trek Bicycles Berkeley hopes to be able to offer 24-hour turnaround on repairs, with loaner bikes available for all maintenance that requires more than 24 hours to complete. Burke said that, in keeping with Trek’s commitment to cycling advocacy, the shop will participate in campaigning for growth of cycling infrastructure within the Berkeley area. “As much as we are excited about the potential for the new store, we are just as thrilled to begin working to make Berkeley an even better place for cyclists and pedestrians,” she said. Trek Bicycles Berkeley, 2480 Shattuck Ave. (between Haste and Dwight Way), Berkeley, 94704. Tel: 510-370-2890. Open Mon. – Fri., 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sat., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sun., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
BLUE BANYAN SOLUTIONS A new, women-owned business has begun offering IT solutions in Berkeley. The company provides NetSuite business software and consulting services best suited for small to mid-sized businesses who need a powerful, all-in-one cloud system that can scale with their business. Co-owners Dao-liang Chou and Jan Rippingale officially started their business on April 1, 2016, operating without a brick-and-mortar office space. “We are proud to be a 100% women-owned tech company,” said Chou. “Each of the founders has over 25 years of experience in the software industry. We’ve taken our deep knowledge about the traditional tech industry and created a business that is a bit different, and, we feel, better.” Currently, their clients represent many different industries, including solar, apparel, pet care and outdoor/fitness. Chou, who has lived in Berkeley with her partner and two children for over 10 years, said, “Berkeley’s rich culture and thought leadership on so many important issues made it the right place to base our business”. The partners hope to open an office in the future but Chou said, “Most of our work is done remotely, as we are working on software that is cloud-based, so anyone with a web browser can use it. We also do a lot of phone and web conferencing. We do visit our clients, who are located all over the country.” Contact Blue Banyan Solutions by phone, Mon. through Fri., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or visit their website for more information. Blue Banyan Solutions, Tel: 510-766-0401.
Shop Talk is Berkeleyside’s regular Berkeley local business column. If you’re a Berkeley business with news, or a Berkeleyside reader who has spotted a change in your neighborhood or on your travels, shoot us an email with the details at editors@berkeleyside.com. Read previous Shop Talk columns. And catch up with all food business news with our Nosh coverage.
