Richardson, Texas Chinatown Shop Celebrates 10 Years

LaserTrek first opened its doors to the Dallas-area Asian community in April 1998 in the shopping strip now known as DFW Chinatown, located on N. Greenville Avenue between Belt Line Road and Arapaho Road. This family-owned store, which specializes in Asian pop culture merchandise, was among the first Asian-owned businesses to set up shop in the growing cultural center. Over the past decade, LaserTrek has grown from a small music and movie store in the corner of Asia World grocery store to one of the most popular stops for Sanrio Hello Kitty merchandise, Asian-edition magazines, books, CDs, toys and cosmetics, and is often visited by fans from across the state.

Fang-li Hsu started this business with her husband Walt, at the height of the short-lived laserdisc era. This dying breed of technology wasn’t the next big thing as many had hoped, but this setback didn’t discourage the entrepreneurs from adapting their business to meet the needs of the community they serve.

The name "LaserTrek" is a nod to the technology that launched the business, combined with Walt’s fondness for Star Trek and the journey it represents.

The Hsus nurture LaserTrek, and its loyal customers, like the five children they raised; And much like parenting, they are continually evaluating how to best grow the business to be a viable part of the community.

"We’ve been very fortunate to be in business for all these years," Walt said. "We’ve seen a lot of changes to the community but some things that have not changed are the support of our customers and the way we do business. We want our customers to always feel like a part of our family and that we strive to provide the products they want and suit their budgets."

As more people from outside the Asian community come to discover their store and the needs of their customer base change, LaserTrek will continue to change with them. With the recent additions of direct dial pre-paid long distance phone cards that do not require a PIN and cosmetics to their staple Sanrio products, LaserTrek hopes to continue to see success for another decade and continue to bring Asian pop culture deep into the heart of Texas.

About LaserTrek

LaserTrek is a family-owned Asian book, music and gifts store, located at 400 N. Greenville Avenue, Suite 8A in Richardson, which has been serving the community since 1998. LaserTrek’s slogan is "Bringing Asian pop culture deep into the heart of Texas." LaserTrek began as a small movie and karaoke store in the corner of Asia World grocery store in 1990. They are now one of the largest sellers of Sanrio products in the Dallas area and offer Asian language magazines, comic books, gifts and toys.