Local Scooter Company Goes Green !

Jan. 29, 2009

By Abraham Aboraya  

Guest Reporter  

Winter Park businessman Ron Schwartz is hoping to ride out the depressed real estate market on the wheels of a scooter, among other things. 

Schwartz is still in the real estate business, make no mistake. He was the vice president and CEO of Demetree Builders in Orlando until his partnership recently dissolved, and he is still managing several development deals. 

But in the meantime, Schwartz has founded Ride Green Scooters in Winter Park to supplement his business. He's also started an organic pizzeria in Orlando. 

"I hope they develop into ongoing situations, but absolutely, I'm looking to do some things to diversify," Schwartz said. "We're going to start a couple new businesses and hope they prosper into a new deal." 

Both businesses had soft openings during the Jan. 17 weekend and, according to Schwartz, both businesses are going well. On Monday, Schwartz was working on getting a liquor license for Stromboli's, the pizza place. "It was a soft opening, but I'm very excited about it," Schwartz said. 

Ron's son Brian is one of the managing partners of Ride Green. Inside the Winter Park office on Jan. 19, John Henderson, also a managing partner, was quietly turning a screwdriver on an electrical outlet. 

The office could be called sparse — lime-green walls, green carpet, a desk with a computer and a telephone, and a table and chairs are the only furnishings inside the one-story brick building located off Fairbanks Avenue. That is, except for the five scooters they had in stock. 

But maybe that's part of the appeal of Ride Green. Many models come priced around $799, while the top-tier models are, at most, $2,000.  

"For the initial opening, I figured the lower the overhead, the cheaper the bikes will be," Brian said. "That's why we're able to compete with the pricing." 

When the copyright on Honda's GY6 motor expired, identical four-stroke motors began to be mass-produced in China. That's part of what keeps the cost of the motors down. "The Chinese are spitting out the same engines," Schwartz said. 

In addition to financing the two new business ventures, Schwartz is an operating partner of Park Plaza Gardens Restaurant in Winter Park. These two businesses aren't his first business ventures outside of real estate. 

"In all candor, I'm an old man these days. There's all kinds of young guys — they've got the energy and the fresh ideas," Schwartz said. "They can work 24 hours a day. I can't do that these days." 

Until the market changes, Schwartz foresees a wait-and-see mentality. 

"The real estate, I think we're just going to be in a holding pattern," Schwartz said. "We're just going to have to sit tight and wait for the market to settle down. 

"That's the way it is. We're not happy the economy's gone south a bit, but that's what happens." 

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Economic transport  

Ride Green Scooters sells 50, 150 and 250 cubic centimeter scooters, ranging in price from $799 to $2,000. They get between 75 and 100 miles per gallon. For more information call 407-332-7900, visit the shop at 671 W. Fairbanks Ave. in Winter Park or e-mail RideGreenFL@gmail.com. Their Web site, RideGreenScooters.com, is currently under construction.