Before getting on your bike, you want to fill your belly or grab a cup of coffee before heading out. Once you’re riding, you’ll inevitably get hungry and crave a snack during a break. And after a full day of cycling, you’ll want to wrap things up with a hearty meal and some delicious drinks.
As many of you know, the Circles group operates three eateries. I’d like to take this opportunity to trace their connections and once again reflect on the relationship between cycling and food.
EARLY BIRDS BREAKFAST
Early Birds Breakfast started with Keta, who originally frequented the shop as a Circles customer and began a catering service called "Tandem Shokudo" in the breezy lounge at Circles. Since then, he has built up the reputation that "Nagoya’s breakfast means Early Birds," and last year the shop celebrated its 10th anniversary.
The shop has continued to grow dynamically, drawing in customers and fellow local restaurant owners who are inspired by his character and hard work, continuing to share the splendor of a vibrant morning through food. Above all, it seems he was the first to realize the fascinating connection between cycling and food, which led to the cycling and food collaboration event, Wonder Hopper.
From inside Early Birds, you can see the bicycle repair pit, almost like an open kitchen. Please, take a seat and peek into the Circles pit.
I wonder how the sight of our mechanics, working carefully and with pride in bicycle safety, appears to the customers at Early Birds. I hope it conveys the joy of using and caring for things until the very end.
EARLY BIRDS BREAKFAST
4-14-20 Chiyoda, Naka-ku, Nagoya
7:00–15:00
Closed Wednesdays and Thursdays
PINE FIELDS MARKET
Three years after Early Birds opened, the bake shop Pine Fields Market opened in 2016 in the Matsubara area, near Osu.
This is a shop where freshly baked coppe-pan sandwiches and sweets are lined up starting at 7:00 AM. Since the bread is fresh out of the oven at opening time, it’s no exaggeration to say the kitchen starts moving not in the morning, but in the middle of the night at 4:30 AM. As a Circles bake shop, no matter how early it is, everyone commutes by bike. It’s a shop run by tough girls with cute faces.
The Matsubara area where the shop is located is famous for its flower wholesale market. Although many functions have moved to the market at Nagoya Port, there are still many wholesalers remaining in Matsubara, and this area also shows a secret vitality from the middle of the night through to the morning. Driven by the desire to serve delicious coffee and bread to those working through the night, PFM has continued to set up a cargo bike stall at the flower market early every Friday morning since its opening.
There are many ways to enjoy the shop in relation to cycling, such as grabbing breakfast before a ride or taking out fueling snacks for mid-ride. Be sure to drop by their shop, which embodies the rich lifestyle that expands from cycling!
PINE FIELDS MARKET
1-4-8 Matsubara, Naka-ku, Nagoya
7:00–15:00
Closed Wednesdays
CERCHI
Finally, there is Pasta Cerchi, which just opened at the start of 2023. There is Circles next to Early Birds and Culture Club next to PFM; until now, each food branch was always accompanied by a cycling team, but Cerchi is a challenge as a standalone eatery.
One of the reasons for opening it was the desire for a place where you could get a full meal while reflecting on the fun ride or outdoor activities you had that day. Because we believe a bicycle-friendly shop, no matter how small, is the best place to face your friends or yourself—talking about what was fun or where to go next—we have bike racks and art by fellow cyclists on display.
I believe a space where you can chat with friends without pretense is the way Cerchi should be.
Also, Cerchi is currently hiring for floor and kitchen staff. It would be amazing to meet someone with "cycling power" (a term that often appears on blogs around the Circles area—click here if you’re curious) to join the Circles group and energize our food team. Please feel free to reach out via an Instagram message.
CERCHI
3-13-26 Kanayama, Naka-ku, Nagoya
Lunch 11:30–14:00
Dinner 18:00–23:00
Closed Tuesdays and 2nd/3rd Wednesdays
The joy of running a restaurant is the direct feedback you get for the things you create and the service you provide, and I also believe that its role as a community space where various enthusiasts gather and talk is a beautiful way for a restaurant to be.
A restaurant cannot function without people who say it’s delicious and eat. A bicycle cannot move without people who say it’s fun and ride. These may look like completely different industries, but the passion of the people inside burns for both their hobbies and their work. A bicycle won't move unless you start pedaling and keep pedaling yourself, but we might be lucky that, despite our different occupations, we were able to meet through such a free and highly creative vehicle.
If I had to ask for more, I’d love to meet people to work with, but more than that, I wrote this today hoping that we can see even more enthusiasts who love the restaurants in the Circles group.
That's right—it’s perfectly fine to come hang out at Circles or Culture Club just because you’re hungry.