1/4/10

For Go-Kart Shop Owners, Location is Everything

(Local Businesses)

By Adam Spate
Special to Tube City Almanac

It all started about a year ago, when three friends bought a couple of ScooterX go-karts online.

Mike "Zak" Kostyzak, Vikki Zilonis and Roman Nowicki had fun tooling around. But they also had a lot of interest from neighbors and relatives wondering where they could buy a go-kart, too.

So they went into the go-kart business for themselves last spring, at first online only, before realizing they needed a showroom to display the products everyone was asking about.

Now they're selling go-karts, scooters and electric bicycles --- conveniently less than 100 feet from the Great Allegheny Passage Bike Trail that will eventually connect Cumberland, Md., with Pittsburgh.

Located in the lower level of a former house at 3731 Walnut St. in Christy Park, near Olympia Shopping Center, Zak's Speed Shop is an exclusive Pittsburgh-area outlet for Go-Ped and ScooterX brand products, two big names in the go-kart and scooter world.

On a good day, you can even see one of the best advertisements driving around outside the store.

"My kids love to ride around the parking lot," Zilonis says. The activity has caused many people to take notice and stop in the store.

Starting this spring, they'll have brand-new bicycles from Marin, Stolen and Surly, and will be custom-building any bike you want.

Business seems to be going well, even in the slow economy that has others sitting back. Zak's is advertising on Facebook and Craigslist, and in good weather the founders ride the bike trail to talk with cyclists.

Finding a place near the bike trail was very important, as was having a decent parking lot for test rides, Zak's Speed Shop founders say.

Besides a complete line of go-kart and bicycling accessories, their showroom caters to both novices and experienced hobbyists. They have everything from Know-Ped adult push scooters to an awesome beast called the "Trail Ripper."

Equipped with a four-and-a-half horsepower motor, the Trail Ripper scooter can do just about everything a dirt bike can do, including hill climbing. Top speed is 30 mph.

If "green" technology is more your thing, Zak's Speed Shop has eco-friendly scooters and go-karts, including electric and propane-gas propelled models.

The emissions from the Pro-Ped LP scooter, for instance, are almost as low as those from an electric, and as Zilonis points out, there is no mixing of gas and oil. Riders just attach a one-pound propane cylinder and off they go, with no fumes and no gas on their hands.

It's also safer to transport than a gasoline-powered scooter: You can lay it down in the back of a car or truck and not worry about the fuel leaking out.

You can tell that Zak's founders really love scooters and go-karts. Kostyzak knew every detail about every product and sounds like he's been selling them his entire life --- not just a few months.

Exciting products, exciting shop and plans for the future --- if you know anyone who uses the bike trail, tell them to stop by and see what Zak's Speed Shop has that might be right for them.

Zak's Speed Shop is located at 3731 Walnut St. in Christy Park, near the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail and Route 48. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 12 to 7 p.m. Fridays, and 12 to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

Call (412) 751-KART or visit their website.