Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Azar Automotive - est. June 23, 2006

Anybody need a good mechanic?

Don’t they look proud? They should!

As most of our friends and family already know, Jeremy and Mike (friend and business partner) are now small business owners. It’s been a long hard road with a lot of starts and stops. But, as we all knew it eventually would, it all worked out in the end. I’m very happy for both of them and extremely proud. But also – I’m pretty damned happy for Mary Beth and myself. Now life can get back to some semblance of normality! Everyone is gainfully employed and the guys are back in good spirits. Mostly.

Many people have asked how this all came about, so a little background for those who don’t know and haven’t heard the ongoing saga as it unfolded… About a year and a half ago, Jeremy and Mike decided to buy an auto repair shop. They found one in Overland that was for sale and everything seemed to go very well. Both of them secured their share of the downpayment financing and were ready to move forward. On the very day that they were to sign a contract with the owner, the owner sold to someone else for cash in hand. It was awful. It happened just 45 minutes before I was due at our bank to close on our equity loan. (Side note: the two yahoos that bought it out from under us had already purchased another shop in the area and didn't want the competition. They're already out of business. So there. Assholes.)

And frankly, it just went downhill from there. In the last year and a half we’ve all learned much more than we ever wanted to know about SBA loans, letters of intent, contracts, and all kinds of other such exciting things. Seriously, buying a business makes buying a house look like going to Target for a new pair of socks! The guys looked at several shops in the St. Louis area – from south city to north county to St. Charles, I feel like we’ve looked at every freaking auto repair shop around! We came very close to purchasing another shop last winter. We had a signed contract, we had bank approval for the full purchase amount and we were ready to go. That seller backed out on us as well.

And for a while there, it looked like this deal was going to fall apart. However, the purchase was split up into two separate deals – the purchase of the business and the purchase of the real estate. So the purchase of the real estate will happen later (hopefully not TOO much later), after the Missouri Department of Natural Resources decides they’re satisfied with the contamination level of the ground.

The weekend after they closed we went to work on the shop. The office was pretty dirty – so MB and I spent a lot of time cleaning off the layer of grime that was on everything. We reorganized, we cleaned, we made plans, etc…

A lot of friends and family members showed up to help that first weekend and we really appreciate their well-wishes and all their help. Jay (Jeremy’s dad) bought a light to fix one of his truck lights Saturday morning and was really proud to be their first customer. We framed his two dollars and they’re now hanging on the wall of the office.

The guys have a lot of plans for the shop, fresh paint jobs both inside and out, landscaping, upgrading some of the office equipment, and all kinds of other things. But the important thing now is that they’re in business, they’re busy, and they’re doing very well so far. So if you need a mechanic, don't hesitate to call:

AZAR AUTOMOTIVE
1620 NORTH AND SOUTH ROAD
(the corner of Page and North & South)
VINITA PARK, MO 63114
314-426-2323