Meet Audrey Menarik of Moto Liberty in North Dallas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Audrey Menarik.

Audrey, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I purchased Moto Liberty in 1999 for $10 from the previous owner. Moved to a small store on Royal and I-35. Gradually expanded and moved to the current 9000 square foot store 5 years ago. It’s rare for a woman to be the sole owner of a motorcycle store, but it’s also very unusual to find a store the specializing in motorcycle gear and apparel. I travel to stores all over the country because Moto Liberty is also the importer for a high-end line of gear from Japan, Taichi. There are not many stores that have the inventory that we stock in the Dallas store.

The old Moto Liberty did a lot of motorcycle road racing. There, I learned the value of quality gear. I didn’t want to run a business that I couldn’t do everything myself. So, since I can’t build a race engine, I decided to specialize in gear. Riding gear can save lives, but only if it fits properly. Gear shouldn’t be bought on-line without trying it on. Between the full-time crew, we have over 60 years’ experience selling motorcycle gear. If you buy a helmet here, it is going to fit your head properly. If you buy a jacket, the armor is going to be in the right place. We have a motto here, we don’t sell anything. We help customers find what gear will suit their riding needs. We have a reputation for selling race/sport gear, but the bulk of our sales is to touring people. We have plenty in stock for Cruisers, too.

Has it been a smooth road?
The construction on LBJ about killed me. I moved in right when it started. I made the mistake of listening to another store owner say “oh… construction is not that bad. Instead of cars going 65 miles an hour, they’re going 30 and they see your store”. B.S.!

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Moto Liberty – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Our massive inventory and knowledgeable sales staff. And the fact that we only do street gear. Do one thing, and do it well. I am most proud when I get a customer back in the store with a story on how we helped save their life, and it happens a lot. For example, a mother came in with her son to say thank you. He had tried on a helmet somewhere else and they were going to sell him an XL. My staff measured him up, and he wears a medium. They found him a good helmet with a shape to comfortably fit his head. Mom said that the ER told her if he wasn’t wearing that good helmet, he wouldn’t be here.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Love Dallas because you can ride all year round! I love Farmers Branch because of the police department’s quick response rate to alarm calls. If you travel a lot, you’ll see that riders in different cities wear different motorcycle gear, or no gear. It’s rare that you see riders around here in tank tops and flip flops. I’d like to think Moto Liberty has helped educate the riders locally, but I may be taking too much credit on that note. 🙂 There’s lots of different types of motorcycle groups in Dallas, and I suppose we can thank social media for culturing that. And, you’ll find motorcycle riders in general are a very charitable group of people. Different groups raise a lot of money for charities.

Contact Info:

• Address: 2821 LBJ Freeway
  Dallas, TX 75234
• Website: www.motoliberty.com
• Phone: 972-243-5995
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moto.dallas/

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