Winter 2024

154 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 4 Mad Dogs & Englishmen has partnered with a European manufacturer of bicycle sidecars and holds exclusive distributorship rights for North America. These are made to the company’s specifications and can be paired with matching electric bicycles. Photo: Robbie McCay While the majority of the company’s trade is in retail sales, rentals are also offered as are guid- ed tours. But what have really made the dog- loving public sit up and pay attention are the fantastic sidecars designed specifically for riding with canine companions. “The first sidecar here was our own,” Blevins says. These exquisitely made sidecars are custom crafted in Copenhagen.They can be fitted to a customer’s existing bike or can be purchased matched to an electric bicycle. And of course, they are avail- able for rental, so visiting pups can experience the beauty of Carmel along with their humans. Until recently, the upstairs portion of Mad Dogs & Englishmen was dedicated to retail sales of bicycles, clothing and accessories, but this fall the space was conver ted into Carmel’s finest gourmet coffee shop. “It’s a common model to have coffee and a bike shop in one location,” Blevins says. “Many also serve beer. Biking is a community-focused activity, and the shop becomes a hub and nat- ural connection point.” The coffee served here is as distinctive as the rest of the enterprise.“We met the people from Dieseldorff Coffee at The Quail Motorsports Gathering during Car Week.” That Guatemalan firm has produced some of the world’s highest- rated coffees since 1888 and is the official coffee of the Quail event. A deep friendship developed that has evolved into Dieseldorff brewing three custom dog-themed blends for Blevins and Watson to feature: “Jacked Up Russell,” “Finicky Frenchie” and “Royal Hound.” The space has been transformed into a café reminiscent of European coffee houses, with coffee brewed in a state-of-the-art La Marzocco machine, hand- crafted for the shop in Italy. “This is the Ferrari of coffee machines,” Blevins says. “We feel blessed that we got lined up with people who make such great coffee.” So now, visitors can fuel up with a delicious coffee drink, strap their four-legged friends into a sidecar and experience Carmel while riding in the open air on an electric bicycle—without huffing and puffing up the hills.The pups will love it, and so will the humans. Mad Dogs & Englishmen’s Carmel location is on the corner of Ocean and Mission. For more infor- mation, visit www.maddogsandenglishmen.com or call 831/709-0007. Optimally situated on two floors at Ocean Avenue and Mission Street, the shop has earned a spot among Carmel’s most beloved retailers—especially among dog lovers—and now is carving out a niche among aficionados of fine coffee.