The highly anticipated opening of a new CarQuest Auto Parts store in West Liberty will take place the week of Feb. 14, owners Darren and Scott Brooke have announced.
The 4,000 square foot store, located in the former JJ Nichting Case Implement Building on U.S. Route 70, will contain nearly $500,000 in parts and will have a “soft opening” next week with a major Grand Opening set for spring.
The Brooke brothers bought the 13,000 square foot building about 18 months ago and decided it was the ideal place for an auto parts store, something West Liberty hasn’t had for over five years.
“It was a good fit for the building and what the community needed,” said Darren Brooke, who said they thought long and hard before making the investment.
The building itself is split into several different entities, described as a “business condo” by the owners with some of the building already rented out to West Liberty Foods for truck storage, with more space available. “It’s filling up fast,” said Brooke.
The CarQuest store will provide parts for autos, trucks and farm equipment and will be managed by Samuel Morel, who came to West Liberty about a year ago from Orlando, Florida, where he’d run other businesses, including restaurants.
“This is something new for me,” Morel said, noting he’s all about providing great customer service and has been visiting possible local clients to alert them of the new, local business. “But I learn quick,” he said, complimenting the CarQuest training program, a big reason the Brooke brothers decided on the franchise, which the family once held in West Liberty years ago.
Morel said if he doesn’t have the specific part to repair a vehicle, he could get it shipped in a day or two to his store, which actually carries a larger inventory than most Car Quest stores in a town the size of West Liberty. “The technology today makes it quick and easy,” he said, noting just about any part for any vehicle can be found thanks to computer Internet technology.
Delivery will also be available and, for those not having a place to work on their car, they can rent a bay from the store by the hour, day or week. Morel said he welcomes everyone in the community to the store, noting as a Latino himself, he knows the Latino community has a knack for working on their own vehicles.
He said the store would have all kinds of batteries, windshield wipers, lights, filters and other simple things that even employees of the store can install for the customers if necessary.
The store will also have specialty tools available to rent and devices that can pinpoint problems in any vehicle. The store will also specialize in making hydraulic hoses for farmers, businesses or other customers.
Darren Brooke said there are even more possibilities of growing the store which plans to be open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m., on Saturday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. “We understand that people work on their vehicles at any time of the week and we want to be here for them,” Brooke said, noting residents in the area don’t have to make that 20 mile trip any more to an out-of-town auto parts store.
Morel said he’d also be available in emergency situations. “If a guy has a dead battery at 5 a.m., we’ll try to make it work for them,” he said.
The Brooke brothers operateproperty management businesses in the community for residential and commercial units and operated the former West Liberty True Value Hardware store had merged West Liberty Auto Partsonto the store in 1984.
The Brooke family started West Liberty Auto Parts in the early 1960's and operated it until selling the store in 1999 from the present Dollar General location on Fourth Street.
Along with Morel, the store will have one other full-time employee, Owen McCormick, as well as four other part-time employees as they open their doors.
“We’re ready for the store to be up and going,” Darren Brooke said. “It’s something that’s been anticipated in this community for some time.”