If you don’t think running and craft beer are two American pastimes made for each other, you haven’t been to The Running Shop and Hops.
To be fair, the new downtown Morgan Hill establishment just opened last weekend. Owned and operated by local couple Paul and Renee Rakitin, the unique shop located in a converted metal-shelled storage building on Depot Street is, on one side, a full-service running apparel retail store, and on the other a beer room with dozens of taps (and counting) that specializes in West Coast microbrews of varying styles and flavors.
It’s a perfect match for Paul, who has been running track and cross country since he was in elementary school, and has been a beer enthusiast since he became an adult.
“To me it seems a natural evolution” to combine a running shoe store with a craft beer room, Paul said. “Runners love to drink beer. It’s a nice blend. Running is very social, and beer drinking is too.”
The “Hops” side of the store opened with 32 beers flowing from the taps, and on Wednesday morning a truck was delivering more than a dozen new brews. The selection early in their opening week was heavy on hoppy India Pale Ale styles, but there’s something for everyone with smoother pale ales, pilsners, lagers and more. There are even a few sour ales on tap.
The staff hopes to have all 50 taps—which are connected by industrial-looking “beer pipes” customized by Paul himself—running soon.
Among the new shop’s customers Aug. 15 were Mayor Steve Tate, local education advocate Adam Escoto and small business owner Ann Horner. The three were sitting together at a table, having a casual meeting about a local school program. The mayor’s wife, Jennifer Tate, was sitting nearby at the bar with friends.
“For real beer drinkers, to have 32 beers on tap, that’s a nice addition to our downtown ambience,” Tate said while sipping on a pint of Oaktown Brown Ale.
Escoto said he has been a customer of The Running Shop since it opened at its original location on the other side of downtown, but he only just started drinking beer while he was in his 40s.
“Now I just really enjoy good beers and learning about them,” Escoto said. “What a great place to do it. You can sense there’s going to be a wonderful vibe here.” He was drinking an Easy Jack session IPA.
The beer room operators will rotate different varieties in and out based on the season, customer preferences and any limited edition brews that become available—“just to keep things fresh and unique, and to keep people coming back,” Paul said. “We have a lot of niche beer that you can’t find in Safeway or the liquor store.”
The Running Shop, loosely separated from the craft beer room by a wall with an open doorway, is a relocation of the Rakitins’ store that opened in 2013. The former location was at Morgan Hill Plaza shopping center, maybe half a mile away from the new spot next to the Granary building.
Paul Rakitin said he first had the idea of opening his own craft beer joint while he was serving in Afghanistan as a medic with the Army in 2011. When he returned to the states, he and Renee opened The Running Shop at their original location—a more affordable digs that allowed them to save up for a nicer place, one day with beer flowing amply.
Paul is also passionately devoted to running as a competitive sport and fitness activity. He is the co-founder, along with Morgan Hill architect/developer Charles Weston, of the local Veterans Run, a 5K fundraiser for nonprofit veterans service organizations.
Renee Rakitin is also a runner, but not quite as avid as her husband. She operates the beer side of their new shop.
Collectively, the couple have decades of customer service and store management experience. Paul has managed various shops over the last 15 years; Renee has been a bartender, men’s clothing store manager/tailor and even a 911 dispatcher.
The couple—who went to school together at Milpitas High—also strive to “add to the community” in their business endeavors, Renee explained.
While the beer room doesn’t have a permit to prepare and serve food on site, customers are encouraged to order from nearby downtown restaurants if they get hungry, and have meals delivered to The Running Shop and Hops. They also encourage visitors who might be worried about parking to walk, run or ride their bicycle to the shop.
This community aspect will be even more pronounced when property owner and developer Weston Miles Architects complete their plans for a new wine and cheese shop, an as-yet-unspecified retail store and a new residential project just next door to The Running Shop and Hops. In turn, these projects will complement other plans underway in downtown Morgan Hill for new restaurants, shops, a boutique hotel and wine bars within walking distance of the Rakitins’ new place, according to the developers.
The Running Shop has also been a strong supporter of local youth runners, having fitted high school teams and younger athletes for shoes, Renee added. And the beer room will serve as the gathering headquarters for the South Valley Running Club, of which the Rakitins are active members.
‘Community support’
The shop is also a tribute to the old-school agricultural roots of the Granary property, where giant grain silos still tower over the east side of downtown. The interior of the shoe and apparel store has a customary, modern retail setup with decorated walls and sleek product displays, while the beer room has a more rustic, industrial look. Wood panels, baseboards and metal frames that were stored as scrap in the building when the Rakitins began remodeling now decorate the interior of the beer room and serve as furniture fixtures.
Two giant metal sheets, also found when the Rakitins were cleaning out the space, adorn the walls with each shop’s logo cut out. Local crafter Matt Hubbard cut the logos—designed by Renee Rakitin—into the metal.
The remodeling and permitting process to open the new Running Shop and Hops took about a year, but the Rakitins said it was worth the wait.
“We had a lot of community support,” Paul added.
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What: A retail running shoe and apparel store, and a craft beer room
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Where: 17500 Depot Street, Suite 100
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Hours: The Running Shop is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday; the adjacent craft beer room is open 12 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday
