LANSING — The namesake of a small delivery business has been robbed, and it’s having a major impact on operations.

Red Bike Delivery, a local delivery company that opened amid the pandemic to serve downtown restaurants, had its flagship red electric bike stolen around noon on Friday while founder Jeremy Hurt made a pickup at Capital City Market.

“I ran in for a few drinks and it was gone in five minutes,” Hurt said.

Hurt said the bike was removed from the area where shopping carts are stored. He viewed footage from the store’s security camera and said it was taken by a man about 5ft 9in tall, with brown hair.

The red Gravity HD electric bike possesses white mag rims. Hurt said his loss severely limited his ability to make deliveries and move his business forward.

“This bike was the only one I had that I could put a trailer on for larger orders. I have a backup, but it’s not something that will last all day, so it’s limited the amount of work that I can do”, he mentioned.

Hurt opened Red Bike Delivery in December 2020 to offer downtown restaurants and their customers an alternative to delivery apps, which it says charge higher service fees at both ends of transactions.

He started the business with his electric bike with the aim of limiting carbon emissions.

“To me, this (delivery) business is not sustainable if we’re trying to become carbon neutral within the next 30 years,” Hurt said.

Hurt is asking anyone with information on the bike’s whereabouts to contact him at 231-680-0501.

Contact journalist Jared Weber at 517-582-3937 or [email protected]