Photo by Graham Sweeney.
Editor’s note: Our business feature stories appear in all four of the Journal West 10 newspapers in Shelby County. Check back weekly to learn about new and longtime businesses in Bartlett, Arlington, Lakeland and Bolton, as well as Millington, Collierville and Germantown. We also welcome your suggestions on who to feature next; email ideas to Bartlett Express Editor Carolyn Bahm at carolyn.bahm@journalinc.com.
Mid-South ATV has had several incarnations in its dozen years of servicing all-terrain vehicles for local enthusiasts.
The business was initially operated out of owner Mike Moore’s home before relocating to a storefront in Bartlett. After seven years off of Sycamore View, Moore moved the ATV repair operation back to his Collierville home.
All the while, business has remained strong, thanks to the shop’s reliable work and Moore’s passion for riding.
In recent years, Moore brought on seasoned mechanic Marc Mayes, and the two worked to further build the operation.
Mayes, who spent nearly two decades as a mechanic at Joe’s Cycle Shop, began working out of Moore’s 900-square-foot residential shop around two years ago.
As business quickly grew, space decreased. Last January, the pair opened Mid-South ATV at 108 W. U.S. 72.
“We just outgrew my house. This building opened up and we knew we needed to move,” Moore said.
So far, business has surpassed Moore’s expectations.
“No one else does this around here,” he noted.
Moore, who also operates Electrical Resources Unlimited, attributes the shop’s success to the quality of work and fair business practices.
“Behind every shop,” Moore said, “is a great mechanic to keep the wheels spinning.”
Mayes comes from a long line of auto mechanics.
“It’s in my blood,” he acknowledged.
While Mayes works primarily behind the scenes, Moore is very much the face of the operation.
Speaking of the duo’s day-to-day routine, Moore, said, “I got this part, he’s got this part.”
Moore gives customers repair estimates over the phone and works to promote the business.
“We are very thorough and accurate,” he said, pointing out that Mid-South ATV works on all major brands of all-terrain vehicles for hobby riders and serious drivers alike.
One of Moore’s regulars is a dog trainer who annually competes in the Mid-South Field Trials. This requires him to constantly use his vehicles while coaching bird dogs in choppy terrain.
“He comes here because he trusts our work,” Moore said.
Not only do Moore and Mayes service and repair ATVs, they also ride along with several groups.
“This is still fun for me,” said Moore, who spent five years with the Memphis Police Department. “It is a passion for me. Going out and riding with the younger generation. They call me Uncle Mike. It keeps me young.”
Over the years, Moore has acquired dozens of stories and examples of straight and fair business actions that have kept customers coming back.
“A lot of these guys are people I ride with,” he said. “All the places they go, I go. I talk to the customers straight. That’s how I roll. That’s how I was raised.”
For more information or an estimate, call Mid-South ATV at (901) 337-9092.
GRAHAM SWEENEY is the editor of the Shelby Sun Times and the Collierville Independent. Contact him at graham.sweeney@journalinc.com.
