Bikes, Food And Videotape
Motorcycle Enthusiasts' Business Mix Pays Off
Last updated Friday, September 19, 2008 6:48 PM CDT in Business
By Pamela Hill
THE MORNING NEWS
FAYETTEVILLE -- As Bikes, Blues & BBQ roars into town for its once-a-year blowout, many bikers will pass a business where bikes, barbeque -- and video -- co-exist daily.
In 1985, Cecil Alderson sold his motorcycle to get enough money to open a video store. Now, he's got another motorcycle -- two, in fact -- and motorcycle equipment and apparel take up more space than movies in that video store he began more than two decades ago.
Biker's Edge and Lucky Star Video share space and sit on the eastern edge of Fayetteville in the Baldwin Community. The joint venture is one of the last businesses within city limits on Arkansas 16, 1.9 miles east of its intersection with Crossover Road. It's a business that has evolved and changed with the times and allowed this longtime biker to make the most of something he enjoys. And for those who are hungry, he's got that covered, too. The Bar-B-Q Place, a business owned by his son, Gary Alderson, features pork, brisket and ribs and sits right outside.
Alderson added Biker's Edge in April 2004.
"I was looking for something to offset the slow periods in the movie business," he said, referring to spring and fall. "When it's 70 degrees outside, it's harder to rent movies, but it's the perfect time to ride bikes."
As movie formats changed from bulky VHS tapes to sleeker DVDs, Alderson gained more space for his motorcycle gear, expanding from just a front-quarter of the 1,600-square-foot store to more than half of the building space. He stocks everything from seats, saddlebags, sissy bags and motorcycle luggage to a variety of helmets, leatherwear, T-shirts and tanks, Harley-Davidson shoes and boots, jewelry, insignia and magazines. Photographs of dozens of bikers who've stopped by on their cool rides adorn the walls.
Alderson fell in love with motorcycles in 1966 when he bought his first one, a 1966 Honda 160 Dream. He owned others during the years, and by 1985 he was riding a Yamaha.
"I sold my bike to start this video store," he said.
With $10,000 in startup costs and only 85 VHS tapes, Alderson and his wife, Lois, opened Lucky Star Video in April 1985. "There weren't a whole lot of video stores around when we started. We thought we'd give it a try," he said.
Alderson grew up in Greenland. He began work at Standard Register soon after graduating high school in 1964, where he worked -- save for a two-year stint in the U.S. Army in the late 1960s -- until he opened his own business.
"I wanted to be my own boss," Alderson said.
He still remembers signing up his first customer -- No. 101 -- a man who still rents movies from the store, along with 9,900 other customers. And they still rent for the same price as they did when they opened -- $3 a night for new releases. Older movies are less.
"Do you have '21'?" a customer asks while perusing the shelves on a recent Sunday. The DVDs of the movie about a group of gambling card-counters are all rented out, but Alderson recommends another film in the same genre that, in his opinion, is better but not as well known.
The Aldersons stock between 12 and 20 new movies each week and watch about one a day to keep up and be able to talk to customers about movies. Whether a movie is good or not is just a starting point. Many customers ask for details such as sex, nudity, language, and violence. Others need help finding movies they've heard about but to which they don't remember the names.
Many people pick their movies based on the "box art," Alderson said. Which movies rent best, based on the box? Sure bets are "movies with a half-naked woman and a machine gun on the cover." No one's too exposed, however. It's a family-friendly store.
For years, Alderson's been predicting that movie rentals would fall amid increased competition from DVD sales and broader offerings on cable and satellite. So far, it hasn't happened.
"I've got 200 channels and there's nothing I want to see," Alderson said.
Apparently, many people feel the same way. Lucky Star keeps adding new customers and some who started coming in as children with their parents have remained customers as adults, often coming in with their own kids.
"I've seen a lot of kids grow up over the years," Alderson said.
And Biker's Edge continues to draw new customers to the store. Alderson often is seen outside talking with bikers and looking at their motorcycles and equipment.
Fifteen years after selling his bike to open Lucky Star, Alderson finally got himself another motorcycle.
"I spent '85 to 2000 without a bike. I won't ever do it again," he said.
He has two Harley-Davidsons now, a Softail Custom and a Softail Deuce. He's always glad to see Bikes, Blues & BBQ come to town and he plans ahead, stocking extra items.
Lois Alderson said business for Biker's Edge usually more than doubles during the annual festival and The Bar-B-Q Place picks up lots of extra business as well. "We get quite a bit of traffic out through here. A lot of people like to ride out on the Pig Trail (Arkansas 23). Some go out to Jasper," she said. "A lot of people like to stop and look at the pictures (on the walls). They like to look for a friend or for themselves if they've been here before."
Lois Alderson said business limits the time she and her husband spend at the annual festival. "We try to go a couple of nights after we close," she said.
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