09/02/2026
Sometimes I look back at everything that has happened in the 20 months since we've opened, I’m honestly a little overwhelmed by how many really special moments have happened inside this little store.
There are the people who have lived in this town for decades who come in at Christmas and shop for their siblings, their kids and their grandkids. And then they come back the next Christmas. Not bikers, just sweet people who love our unique products.
The West Alexandria Celebration Committee who has gone out of their way to include us in so many of the things happening in town and has made us feel like we’re truly part of this community.
There are the local artists and makers who have trusted us enough to put their work on our shelves.
Our West Alexandria Fire & EMS, West Alexandria Police Department, and the Village of West Alexandria office. Our Preble county tourism bureau, Historical Society, The American Legion, VFW posts, the Masons, and other local businesses like Jim and Dans Comics and Collectables, Montgomery Property Maintenance, Western and Whimsey, The Old Print Shop Antiques and of course our fabulous neighbors at Jamie's Alley Cuts & Twin Valley Bank... All of the people who have answered questions, shared our posts, pointed people in our direction, helped us when we needed it and genuinely wanted to see this little business succeed.
And our customers!!!!!! (Especially the ones who tell someone, “You need to go check that place out.”)
You may never know how much that means to our small business. Your referrals doesn't cost you anything, but to us, it is one of the biggest compliments you can give. It means you enjoyed your time here enough to put your own name behind ours and tell someone else to walk through our door.
And then there are the motorcyclists and their clubs!!!!
The people who stop because they happened to be riding through town. The ones who make us a destination or a stop on their 250 mile ride. The ones who come back every week or month or season. The ones who bring friends the next time. The people who walk through the door carrying a box, a bag, an old shirt, a jacket or a piece of motorcycle history and say, “Do you think you could sell this for me?”
The fact that people trust us with those things still means something to me every single time!!
When we opened Behind Bars Biker Collective, I knew what I wanted the store to be a collective effort, with everyone rowing in the same direction... but every time it happens it fills my heart with love and gratitude!
In this short time we've gotten to know people we probably never would have met otherwise. We've heard stories, funny, sad, moving, and real. We've laughed. We've learned the history behind things people bring through our doors, and their feelings behind the history. We've watched people find something on a rack that instantly takes them back 30 years. We've met people from right down the street and people who were hundreds of miles from home.
Those are the things I think about when I think about these first months.
Not just what we've sold - The people. Your silly stories. The relationships. The trust.
The community that has wrapped its arms around this crazy little motorcycle shop and allowed us to become a small part of their lives, and we couldn't be more grateful!
People told us that a small town might be a hard place for a shop like this - and those people were WRONG! West Alexandria has been welcoming, kind, and helpful, we'd never have found this anywhere else.
There are far too many people to thank individually, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some examples even writing this.
But if you've shopped with us, sold with us, brought a friend, shared a post, told somebody about us, put your work on our shelves, invited us to participate in something, stopped in while you were passing through town, offered advice, encouraged us, or simply walked through the door to see what we were all about...
Thank you (Really)!!
And I can't wait to see who walks through that door next. ❤️
