Import Crate Tour Stops

Import Crate Pilot Series

Import Crate Tour Stops

A traveling automotive lifestyle experience that brings Import Crate directly into carefully selected businesses and local communities.

A New Way to Experience the Automotive Community

Import Crate Tour Stops are curated community experiences created in collaboration with selected host businesses.

Each stop brings the Import Crate experience into a new destination, giving enthusiasts an opportunity to discover local businesses, connect with the community, explore Import Crate products, and take part in an experience built around automotive lifestyle and culture.

A Tour Stop is not simply a retail setup or traditional vendor appearance. Import Crate and the host work together to create something memorable for the people and community surrounding the location.

Bringing Import Crate to More Communities

After the closing of our Stonebriar location, we heard from customers who had traveled 30 minutes, an hour, and sometimes even farther to visit Import Crate.

We also received messages asking us to visit other cities.

Rather than always expecting our community to travel to us, Tour Stops allow Import Crate to periodically travel to them.

The Tour Stop program is an evolution of Import Crate and a permanent addition to our ecosystem alongside our online store, conventions, major events, partnerships, and CrateOnScene.

The Import Crate Experience

The centerpiece of every Tour Stop is the Import Crate presence itself. Each stop is shaped around the host business, the location, and the community it serves.

Depending on the stop, the experience may include:

Import Crate

  • Curated product displays and shopping
  • New, limited, or stop-exclusive products
  • Product demonstrations
  • Giveaways and special offers
  • Conversations with the Import Crate team

Community Experience

  • Complimentary drinks or snacks when available
  • Customer and driver interviews
  • Content creation
  • Host business specials
  • Music and entertainment

Every Tour Stop may look different. Some may include Featured Vehicles, while others may focus more heavily on the host business, products, food, entertainment, or community interaction.

Small by Design

Tour Stops are intentionally designed around quality interaction rather than the largest possible crowd.

We believe meaningful conversations and genuine community support create more lasting value than simply filling a parking lot.

A successful Tour Stop is one where attendees:

  • Spend time discovering the host business
  • Support participating businesses
  • Connect with other enthusiasts
  • Create and share content
  • Build new relationships
  • Leave wanting to attend another Tour Stop

Success is measured by the value created for the host, the community, and the people who participate—not by crowd size alone.

Another Way to Spend the Weekend

Automotive weekends often revolve around meets, shows, cruises, races, and conventions.

Import Crate Tour Stops are being created as another experience for enthusiasts to look forward to—one that blends automotive culture, lifestyle, shopping, local business discovery, and community interaction.

Each stop has its own personality, but every location carries the same Import Crate identity.

Our long-term goal is for enthusiasts to follow the Tour Stop series and ask:

Where is the next Import Crate Tour Stop?

A Collaboration With the Host Business

Tour Stops are built as collaborative partnerships rather than traditional vendor arrangements.

Import Crate and the host business work together to plan, promote, and deliver an experience that introduces enthusiasts to the host location while strengthening both brands.

Depending on the collaboration, promotion may include:

  • Joint social media promotion
  • Instagram collaboration posts
  • Email and customer outreach
  • Event graphics and promotional content
  • Host-exclusive specials
  • Giveaways or customer incentives
  • CrateOnScene promotion
  • Paid advertising from Import Crate when appropriate

Because each Tour Stop is developed as a partnership, the focus is on creating mutual value rather than following a traditional vendor-host structure.

What Import Crate Brings

Depending on the location and Tour Stop format, Import Crate may provide:

  • A professional branded retail display
  • Import Crate products and merchandise
  • Promotion through Import Crate channels
  • Social media coverage and content creation
  • Giveaways, exclusive products, or special offers
  • Featured Vehicle coordination when appropriate
  • CrateOnScene event integration
  • Paid promotional support when appropriate
  • Import Crate team members to operate the experience

What We Look for in a Host

Tour Stops are designed for businesses that want to become destinations for their local automotive and lifestyle communities.

Potential Hosts

  • Automotive shops
  • Performance and detailing businesses
  • Sim racing lounges
  • Coffee and boba shops
  • Japanese restaurants
  • Lifestyle retailers
  • Shopping centers
  • Anime and hobby stores
  • Dealerships
  • Other aligned businesses and venues

Strong Host Qualities

  • Alignment with the Import Crate audience
  • A professional and welcoming environment
  • Suitable space for the planned experience
  • Active participation in promotion
  • A customer base likely to engage
  • Interest in building a lasting relationship

Tour Stops require a suitable indoor space that allows Import Crate to become part of the customer experience. Tour Stops are intentionally centered around Import Crate and the host business rather than a general vendor marketplace.

Featured Vehicles

Some Tour Stops may include a small group of carefully selected Featured Vehicles.

Featured Vehicles are optional and are included only when they strengthen the experience and fit the host location.

When included, vehicles are curated rather than opened to unlimited participation. This creates a more relaxed environment where attendees can appreciate the cars, meet their owners, and learn the stories behind them.

Featured Vehicle applications and participation may be managed through CrateOnScene.

Powered by CrateOnScene

CrateOnScene gives each Import Crate Tour Stop a dedicated digital home.

Through CrateOnScene, enthusiasts can discover upcoming stops, learn about the host business, register for available experiences, and remain connected after the physical event ends.

Depending on the Tour Stop, CrateOnScene may support:

  • Dedicated event listings
  • Attendee registration
  • Giveaway eligibility
  • Featured Vehicle applications
  • Driver Passport participation
  • Sponsorship activations
  • Event updates
  • Host and partner visibility
  • Event analytics
  • Post-event content

Import Crate creates the attraction, the host provides the destination, and CrateOnScene powers the digital community experience.

The Pilot Series

The first Import Crate Tour Stops will be part of the official Pilot Series.

The Pilot Series allows Import Crate to develop and improve this new experience alongside our first hosts, attendees, drivers, and community partners.

During the Pilot Series, we will refine:

  • Host collaboration
  • Community engagement
  • Event flow and attendee experience
  • CrateOnScene integration
  • Content creation opportunities
  • Sponsorship activations
  • The repeatable Tour Stop format

Early hosts and attendees will play an important role in shaping the future of the Tour Stop program.

The Long-Term Vision

Our goal is to build a permanent network of Import Crate Tour Stops hosted by carefully selected businesses across Texas and eventually throughout the United States and Canada.

Rather than relying only on permanent retail locations, Import Crate can partner with outstanding local businesses to create recurring experiences that introduce enthusiasts to new destinations and strengthen automotive communities.

Over time, Tour Stops are intended to become a recognizable part of the automotive calendar alongside meets, shows, conventions, and other enthusiast activities.

Tour Stop Updates

Be the First to Know Where We’re Going Next

Join the Import Crate Tour Stop list for announcements about upcoming cities, Pilot Series stops, attendee registration, special releases, giveaways, and Featured Vehicle opportunities.

Tell us where you are so we can let you know when an Import Crate Tour Stop is planned near your community.


Tour Stop announcements may vary by city. Joining this list does not register you for a specific event.

Host Opportunities

Become an Official Tour Stop Host

Businesses, venues, and organizers interested in hosting an Import Crate Tour Stop may submit a proposal for consideration.

Each proposal is reviewed based on location, audience fit, available space, host participation, promotional potential, timing, and overall alignment with the Import Crate brand.

Tour Stop proposals should normally be submitted at least 6–8 weeks before the preferred date. Larger, out-of-town, or more complex stops may require additional planning time and host support with travel or accommodations.

Propose a Tour Stop

Submitting a proposal does not guarantee selection. Tour Stops are limited and scheduled based on availability, location, strategic fit, and the experience both Import Crate and the host can create together.

Looking for event vending, sponsorship, or promotional support instead?