Source: Bike Bound
Despite a devastating fire, Eleven10 Moto Garage returns with Front Row Moto Show 2023!
Since opening in 2019, community workshop Eleven10 Moto Garage has become a hub for motorcyclists in the Phoenix area, hosting open houses, group rides, meet-and-greets with various riding clubs and organizations, and offering a number of workspaces for local builders and enthusiasts.
“It started as just a group of friends needing a place to work on their own bikes, but it grew into something much more than we could have ever expected.” -Chris Elliott, Aspire Cycle / Eleven10 Moto Garage
Photo: Joy Goddard
In 2021, Eleven10 Moto Garage organized and hosted the inaugural Front Row Moto Show in their small 2000 sq-ft warehouse. In 2022, the show more than doubled in size and attendance.
The Eleven10 Moto crew was already making plans for 2023 when tragedy struck.
“While we were all out at our monthly Moto Social event on the evening of October 6th, our phones started ringing with some bad news… We got word that there was a fire at the back side of the building that houses our shop space.”
They hurried to the scene, where several ladder trucks were already in action. Even though most of their bikes were safe from the fire itself, the weight of the water caused the ceiling to collapse on the shop.
Over the next few days, with the help of friends, family, and the local moto community, they salvaged what they could from the wreckage.
“We will continue to clean and restore these items over time, especially when we find a new home base and are able to start over again. For now, we will continue with our events and rides while we search for a new home!”
BREAKING: We just received word that Eleven10 Moto Garage has found a new location. Details coming soon!
“We are now setting up our new shop and have a sneak preview on Valentines Day and will continue with our regular monthly two wheel Tuesdays at this new location!”
In more good news, Front Row Moto Show 2023 is still a go! It’s set for the weekend of April 1-2 at Walter Studios in downtown Phoenix — a bar, restaurant, and music venue right down the street from the old Eleven10 Moto Garage location.
“We are hoping to have about 40 bikes on display in our showcase with room for another 60 or more in the designated show-and-shine area.”
Have a bike you’d like to submit to the show? You can submit it via www.frontrowmotoshow.com. We highly encourage riders and enthusiasts from Arizona and beyond to come out for the show.
And if you can’t make it, there are still plenty of ways to help this Phoenix motorcycle hub rise from the ashes:
“First of all, SPREAD THE WORD! We are still accepting showcase submissions as well as vendor and sponsor inquiries for the show. We have a gofundme linked on the Eleven10 Moto Garage website, or you can check out our online store and purchase some Eleven10 Moto Garage or Front Row Moto Show gear. Anything and everything will help!”
Below, we talk to Chris Elliott of Aspire Cycle / Eleven10 Moto Garage about the workshop, the fire, and the return of the show. Photos courtesy of Joy Goddard, Jay Koala, Forest Gardner, Ryan Hutman, and Chris Elliott.
Front Row Moto Show: Organizer Interview
• Please tell us a bit about yourself, the history of Eleven10 Garage, and Front Row Moto Show.
Eleven10 Moto Garage is a “Do It Yourself” type community workshop that started here in Phoenix in October of 2019. It started as just a group of friends needing a place to work on their own bikes, but it grew into something much more than we could have ever expected.
Photo: Joy Goddard
Over a three-year period of time, we grew a community around our shop and became a hub of sorts for motorcycle enthusiasts in the Phoenix area. We hosted open houses, rides, and other special events. We also participated in a lot of other motorcycle related events around Arizona, the US, and even internationally!
Front Row Moto Show started in 2021 as a way to showcase what Arizona has to offer as far as motorcycles from local builders and enthusiasts, as well as local businesses. We had our first show in our small 2,000 square foot warehouse and we quickly realized we needed to think on a larger scale. It grew by at least twice the amount of attendees and motorcycles for 2022, and we look forward to continuing that growth in the years to come!
• We were so sorry to hear about the Eleven10 Garage fire last fall. Can you give us the gist of what happened?
While we were all out at our monthly Moto Social event on the evening of October 6th, our phones started ringing with some bad news. At first, it didn’t seem catastrophic, but we soon realized it was much worse than we originally thought. We got word that there was a fire at the back side of the building that houses our shop space. After feeling out the next few minutes at the event, a group of people from our crew rode over to check it out.
The fire had grown to a massive size, and there were at least three or four ladder trucks shooting water down into the roof of the building. The streets were completely blocked off by police and fire trucks. They had to cut open our roll up door with a sawzall and there was smoke and debris pouring out from the opening. I was able to catch the last few hours of the fire, and it seemed like we would be able to safely remove all of our bikes and equipment since the front side of the building was visibly undamaged by the flames.
What we didn’t expect was for the weight of the water and the weakened ceiling structure to cause a complete collapse of the roof down onto our shop and everything inside it. Apparently the fire had started in the back corner of the building away from our shop space and spread throughout the entire ceiling.
Even though none of our bikes or possessions were on fire, they were all heavily damaged by smoke, water, and debris. There was a rainstorm earlier that evening, and the fire department ruled it as either lightning or outdated building infrastructure. The building was constructed in the 1920’s and if any water from the rains that night leaked into the walls then it could’ve shorted out some of the old electrical wiring and sparked the fire.
It was heartbreaking for us all to stand there and watch our shop become history. Over the next several days, we were able to salvage what we could from the building. We had a lot of help from our friends, family, neighbors, and community. Lots of personal items, furniture, decorations, and electronics were unrecoverable, but all of our motorcycles and most of our tools survived. We have been able to store these items safely with help from our friends with extra garage space.
We will continue to clean and restore these items over time, especially when we find a new home base and are able to start over again. For now, we will continue with our events and rides while we search for a new home!
• Fortunately, we hear Front Row Moto Show will be back for ’23!
We are definitely still going strong with this event and hope to continue for years and years to come. We have our dates set for April 1 and 2, with our preview night on Saturday the 1st, and the main event on Sunday the 2nd. The venue is Walter Studios, an excellent bar, restaurant, and music venue that is right down the street from where our shop used to be in Downtown Phoenix.
We have had a lot of great submissions for showcase bikes so far and they are still rolling in! We are hoping to have about 40 bikes on display in our showcase with room for another 60 or more in the designated show-and-shine area.
We have a lot of great local and out of state vendors and sponsors on board, and there are many more yet to be announced!
• When / Where / How can builders submit their bikes to the show?
All of the information about Front Row Moto Show is on our website, www.frontrowmotoshow.com. There is a submission form for showcase bikes there, as well as a contact form for vendors, sponsors, and artists who are interested in participating. We will review every submission and hand pick a diverse variety of entries to keep the show interesting.
Even if your bike isn’t picked for showcase, we still want to see you there! This is going to be a lot of fun and we look forward to checking out all of the bikes on the day of the show. I’m sure there are some great surprises in store!
Get in touch with us and we will be happy to send you some more details about how you can contribute or participate this year!
• What else can folks do to help Eleven10 Garage and Front Row Moto Show?
There are several ways to help. First of all, SPREAD THE WORD! We are still accepting showcase submissions as well as vendor and sponsor inquiries for the show. We have a gofundme linked on the Eleven10 Moto Garage website, or you can check out our online store and purchase some Eleven10 Moto Garage or Front Row Moto Show gear. Anything and everything will help!
• Anyone you’d like to thank for helping to bring back the show?
I would really like to thank the Eleven10 crew and all of our supporters, neighbors, family, and community for working so hard to get us back on our feet. Without you all, we would be lost! It’s more than just a building, and this has become extremely apparent in the last few months as we have seen the outpouring of help and good vibes from everyone. The support has been overwhelming.
More from Front Row Moto Show 2022:
Follow the Show
Eleven10 Garage: www.eleven10garage.com | @eleven10garage
Front Row Moto Show: www.frontrowmotoshow.com | @frontrowmotoshow
Photographers:
Jay Koala
Forest Gardner
Ryan Hutman
Chris Elliott
