SALISBURY — From a bicycle shop to an urgent care clinic, Salisbury will see a variety of new businesses opening in the coming weeks.
A full-service bakery returns to downtown, and the new Belk department store going up at Wallace Commons has helped a neighboring developer land two additional businesses, with potential tenants eyeing the last vacant space in the shopping center.
Here’s a rundown of new businesses about to open in Salisbury:
A bicycle shop featuring the Cannondale brand plans to open downtown by mid-August.
Owner Eric Phillips is moving his shop from Mocksville to the former Aull’s Printing and Copy location at 111 W. Innes St. Crews are upfitting the 2,220-square-foot space.
Phillips bought the remaining inventory from Windsong Bicycle Shop when it closed last year, leaving Salisbury without a bike shop. Phillips said he’s had good response from people excited to have a bike retailer and mechanic back in town.
Phillips said he considered opening in Salisbury last year but decided to keep Skinny Wheels in Mocksville, his hometown. Now, he’s ready to make the move.
Skinny Wheels specializes in sales, service and repair and carries Cannondale, Fuji, GT and Schwinn bikes in a variety of styles, including mountain, road, hybrid and cross. The shop also has children’s bikes.
Phillips is the main mechanic, and his brother Scott Phillips helps out. Tentative hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday though Saturday with organized group rides and other events based at the shop.
Reach Skinny Wheels at 336-751-7433.
After your bike ride, grab a cupcake or three at the new bakery moving into the former Frost Bites location at 207 S. Main St.
Owner Lisa Welch said she hopes to open by the end of August, offering all types of sweet baked goods including speciality cakes, cookies, cheesecake and pastries. Eventually, look for bagels.
Welch tested the waters in June by handing out 400 cupcakes at Night Out. She ran out in an hour and a half, so she bumped it up to 700 cupcakes in July. They lasted about two hours.
The name “Firehouse Sweets” comes from her fiance’s career — Rick Fleming works as a captain for the Salisbury Fire Department. The logo features the image of an old firehouse, and Welch plans to make the bakery counter look like the back of an antique fire engine.
“I have always wanted to own a bakery,” Welch said.
Originally from Vermont and a Salisbury resident for 16 years, Welch has baked cakes in her home and works as a real estate paralegal, a job she’ll keep until the bakery demands her attention full-time.
She will staff the shop in the mornings, with daughter Leah Beattie working in the afternoons. Hours will be 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Reach Firehouse Sweets at 704-796-5862.
A mattress store and urgent care will share a new 6,000-square-foot building going up next to Longhorn at Wallace Commons, the shopping center at Julian Road and Interstate 85 anchored by Kohl’s and soon by Belk, which plans to open this fall.
Charlotte developer Collett & Associates, which owns the shopping center with Salisbury’s Wallace family, is constructing the building but declined to discuss the cost of the project.
Ryan Mosser, Collett’s project manager, said the developer plans to turn over the building to Sleepy’s and the urgent care by November. Nana’s Nook recently moved out of the existing shopping center, and Mosser said several potential tenants are interested in the last vacant space in the center.
Hutton, a Chattanooga real estate developer, is building an extension to Wallace Commons that will house Belk, Michael’s crafts, Shoe Carnival and Ulta Beauty.
“That has absolutely impacted us,” Mosser said.
News of Belk’s impending arrival helped land retailers and the medical clinic, filling up previously vacant spaces next to Kohl’s, he said.
With one small parcel left for an ATM machine, Wallace Commons is nearly full, he said.
A walk-in medical clinic plans to open Dec. 7 at 1357 Klumac Road in the duplex with Sleepy’s. Founded in Clayton in 2001, FastMed Urgent Care has 52 locations in North Carolina and Arizona.
The clinic is not affiliated with Novant Health or Carolinas HealthCare System and will accept most insurance plans. Spokesman Reuel Heyden said local health care providers will staff the urgent care.
“FastMed is all about the local aspect,” Heyden said. “… Every urgent care is locally staffed and geared toward that community.”
The company is expanding to Salisbury because the area has been identified as under-served, and some FastMed staff members are from Salisbury originally, he said. Salisbury has at least four other urgent care clinics.
FastMed will support the city’s health care sector and help alleviate emergency room crowding, Heyden said.
A Japanese restaurant plans to open soon in the former Zaki’s location at 1621 W. Innes St. For owner Jae Park and his wife Stacy Park, it’s like coming home.
Stacy Park graduated from Catawba College, where she played volleyball. Her niece, Brianna Johnson, is transferring to Catawba this fall to play basketball.
Jae Park said he hopes Kimono’s location near the college, as well as a menu that starts at $5.95, will attract students. Salisbury’s new One Stop Shop for development and the Rowan County Building Codes Enforcement Department earned praise from Park, who said he did extensive interior renovations.
“Salisbury seems very good and very attractive,” he said. “The city of Salisbury and Rowan County people have been really helpful and nice.”
He will continue to use the outdoor patio for dining. Kimono has two locations in Winston-Salem, as well as restaurants in Lexington, Clemmons and Kernersville.
Hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.