A press release, before and after.
Maple & Spoke Bike Shop, its owners and Tideline Roasters are invented so we can show a whole job. The method is exactly what we do with your facts.
Before: what the owner sent
Hi, so we are opening our second bike shop on Nov 8 at 412 Harbor Street in Portsmouth (the old hardware store) and I want to send something to the Herald and maybe the radio station. We have been on Maple Street since 2019 and people kept asking us to open on the other side of the river so here we are. Grand opening day we will have free tune ups all day, a raffle for a kids bike, coffee from Tideline, and a group ride at 9. The new shop has a bigger repair bay and we are hiring 2 more mechanics (we have 6 staff now). Also we do the earn-a-bike program with the Boys and Girls Club, about 40 kids got bikes last year. My name is Dana Whitfield I own it with my wife Priya. Not sure what else to put, can you make it sound like a real press release? Our number is 603 555 0142 and the website is mapleandspoke dot com.
After: the release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Maple & Spoke Bike Shop to Open Second Location in Portsmouth on Nov. 8
Grand opening offers free tune-ups all day, a children's bike raffle and a 9 a.m. community ride; the new shop adds a larger repair bay and two mechanic jobs
PORTSMOUTH, N.H., Oct. 27, 2026 — Maple & Spoke Bike Shop, the independent bicycle store that has served the Maple Street neighborhood since 2019, will open a second location at 412 Harbor Street on Saturday, Nov. 8, in the building that housed Harbor Hardware for four decades.
The new store answers years of requests from customers on the east side of the river, according to co-owner Dana Whitfield. It has a repair bay roughly twice the size of the original shop's and will add two full-time mechanics to the company's staff of six.
"People kept asking us when we were coming to their side of the bridge," Whitfield said. "This building was built for tools and work, which is exactly what a bike shop is. We wanted to keep that."
Grand opening day runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and includes free tune-ups all day, a raffle for a children's bicycle, coffee from Tideline Roasters and a group ride leaving the new shop at 9 a.m. All events are free and open to the public.
Maple & Spoke also runs an earn-a-bike program with the Portsmouth Boys & Girls Club, through which about 40 children earned bicycles in 2025 by completing a short maintenance course. The program will continue at both locations.
About Maple & Spoke Bike Shop
Maple & Spoke is an independent bicycle shop founded in 2019 by Dana and Priya Whitfield. It sells and services bicycles for commuters, families and riders of all ages from its original store on Maple Street and, from Nov. 8, 2026, from 412 Harbor Street. More at mapleandspoke.com.
Media contact
Dana Whitfield, co-owner
603-555-0142 · dana@mapleandspoke.com
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The email that goes with it
Subject: Maple & Spoke opening a second bike shop on Harbor Street Nov. 8 Hi Jordan — Maple & Spoke, the bike shop on Maple Street since 2019, is opening a second store at 412 Harbor Street (the old Harbor Hardware building) on Saturday, Nov. 8. Free tune-ups all day, a kids' bike raffle and a 9 a.m. community ride. The release is below and pasted in full; happy to arrange a visit to the new repair bay or a photo before opening day. — Dana Whitfield, co-owner, 603-555-0142
The short version for social
We're opening a second shop! 412 Harbor Street (yes, the old hardware store), Saturday Nov. 8. Free tune-ups all day, a kids' bike raffle, Tideline coffee and a 9 a.m. group ride from the new door. Two more mechanics are joining us. Come across the bridge and see it.
The ten-point checklist
- The news is in the headline. "Maple & Spoke to open second location on Nov. 8", not "Exciting news from Maple & Spoke". An editor decides from the headline alone, so it carries the who and the what.
- The subhead carries the second-best facts. The grand opening events and the jobs. A reporter who reads two lines now has the whole story.
- The first sentence answers who, what, where, when. Everything the reader needs if they stop there. The owner's email buried the date in the middle of a paragraph.
- Why it matters comes second. Years of requests from the east side, a repair bay twice the size, two new jobs. That is the paragraph a local editor is looking for.
- One real quote, in plain speech. "People kept asking us when we were coming to their side of the bridge." Something only the owner could say. Never "we are thrilled to announce".
- Numbers, not adjectives. Twice the repair bay, two jobs, six staff, 40 children. "State of the art" and "premier" tell a reporter nothing and get cut.
- Only facts the owner can back up. The email said "about 40 kids"; the release says "about 40 children" and keeps the word about. Nothing is rounded up and nothing is invented.
- The paragraph about the business is short and factual. Founded when, by whom, what it does, where. No slogans. Newsrooms paste it as is.
- A named person with a phone number. A reporter on deadline calls; they do not fill in a contact form. The contact line is the owner, not a generic inbox.
- Dated, placed and ended. City and date at the top in the form editors expect, ### at the bottom so they know it is the whole thing. About 400 words; one page.
Where to send it
You send it yourself, and that is the point: a reporter opens an email from the owner, not from an agency. Start with the local paper's news desk and the reporter who last wrote about a business like yours, the local radio station's newsroom, the chamber of commerce newsletter, and your own site and social accounts. Paste the release into the body of the email under the pitch; attach nothing. Send it mid-morning on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, about a week before the date. Paid wire services are a separate decision and are never required for local coverage.