There aren’t as many bike parts hanging from the ceiling of Seven’s Gate Taproom as can be found in the Colorado Springs Bike Shop next door, but (one, two … ) maybe?  You’d be forgiven for not recognizing all the elements for what they are, or were, before becoming artistic inspiration for bike shop and brewery co-owner Jerry Morris.  “They are wheels, those are rims,” said Morris, pointing out the different parts he combined to create the chandeliers above the bar, each a unique mashup of metal and grace formed of castoffs whose kinetic chapter had come to an end. Jerry Morris, co-owner of Seven’s Gate Taproom and Cerberus Brewing Co., made light fixtures from old bicycle parts for the Steven’s Gate Taproom as seen Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock) “This one is chain,” said Morris, going down the line, “and obviously there’s an actual wheel that it’s hanging from, and then on top there, I’ve welded together a bunch of gears, and then put on some lights.” Plenty of bar and brewery owners rise anew on Colorado Springs’ taproom shores after wildly divergent career paths (say, fighter pilot, financial planner, Foley artist). Fewer have pursued those wildly divergent paths from scratch, while keeping the pints flowing.  Morris is the first to admit he couldn’t have done it alone. Before he and his longtime business partner, Tom Halfast, bought neighboring west-side commercial properties, including the bike shop, in 2016 – recasting the former veterinary hospital at 702 W. Colorado Ave. into their award-winning Cerberus Brewing Co. in 2016 and growing the footprint in 2022 to Seven’s Gate – they’d already logged more than a decade at the helm of the Springs social scene at Brewer’s Republic and The Underground bar and nightclub on Nevada Ave. Before that, in the 1990s, was a successful stint in real estate, fixing up and selling houses. The sun shines behind the metal fence outside Cerberus Brewing Co. in Colorado Springs on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock) Morris said his one lament as a self-made, self-taught businessman, articulated some 20 years ago, was about something many check off the list before ever dipping a toe in the career reality pool. “I’d always regretted not going to school,” said Morris, 63, who figured after all those years remodeling houses he was pretty good with his hands. “I decided maybe I should go learn about sculpture.” At the time, he and Halfast were running The Underground. Weekday nights “really only needed one of us,” said Morris, who said he was able to talk his business partner into letting him attend school on weekdays.  Morris graduated from CU Boulder in 2011 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts focusing in sculpture and ceramics, and a solid and growing resume of exhibitions. One of his favorites? An artfully reenvisioned Cadillac Coupe de Ville, made from reproduction 1950s and ’60s era hood ornaments suspended by wires. “She took up the whole first room of the gallery,” said Morris, reflecting fondly on the installation at the now-closed GOCA 121. Jerry Morris, co-owner of Seven’s Gate Taproom and Cerberus Brewing Co., made light fixtures from old bicycle parts for the Steven’s Gate Taproom as seen Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock) Gallery success failed to translate into a financial windfall (“shockingly”), so Morris leaned back into his day job with Halfast, bringing artistic grace notes and historical follow-through to their projects wherever he could: the fence facing Colorado Avenue, refashioned of pickets salvaged from the original property; hand-welded, upcycled doors; even Cerberus’ merchandise cubbies, fashioned from pet enclosures from the former veterinary hospital.  Morris’ other creations are harder to miss, if you just look up.  His bespoke (get it?) bike chandeliers are a “real focal point” for patrons, said Cerberus and Seven’s Gate general manager Melisa LeFebvre.  “We get a lot of inquiries about them from guests and even employees who want to know more about them because they’re so intriguing and absolutely beautifu l… especially the ones with the gears,” LeFebvre said. “I’m not even a huge cycling person, but I would have that in my house.” Morris’ sculptures, alas, aren’t currently available to-go. “He’s mentioned in the past that they’re not available for sale, but I don’t blame people for asking, that’s for sure,” LeFebvre said. “I think they should keep asking. Maybe eventually we’ll get through to him.” Morris and Halfast announced last year that their west-side brewery was on the market. Until a buyer is found, Morris said musings about a post-Cerberus chapter remain just that: musings. He’s got a vision for an elaborately sculpted bar area beneath those gorgeous chandeliers, “like the wooden bars from the 1800s that you saw in saloons, you know, with columns and everything … but built out of bike parts.” And “retirement,” when it comes, seems poised to look like anything but. In December, Morris graduated from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs with a Master of Business Administration degree.  “For me, going back to school, you know, is (about) just trying to figure out how to be smarter and do better.” Morris said. Because life, at its best, is an unfinished work of art. ...read more read less