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South Side survival
By DOUG LIVINGSTON
TheNewsOutlet.org
YOUNGSTOWN
South Ave. Survival
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At Denny’s Auto Sales, 1204 South Ave., protecting the inventory is essential to staying in business in the neighborhood. Bob Kover is one of the salesmen at the dealership.
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Randy Ware planted a flower garden along the sidewalk in front of Ware’s Automotive, 906 South Ave., to attract customers. It’s important to stand out on South Avenue, he said.
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Jack Frank, left, and Gary Frank run Frank’s Auto Parts, 1014 South Ave., and rely on the neighborhood they have served for 40 years. “The neighborhood watches out for each other,” Gary said. “And they watch out for our business because they’re our friends.”
Three men endure a cold Mahoning Valley winter morning as they shuffle cars from the sanctuary of garages and chain-linked yards to a barren field across South Avenue.
The cars are one man’s livelihood.
“You gotta protect your inventory,” Denny Moore said.
Moore owns Denny’s Auto Sales, 1204 South Ave.
If you want to stay in business in his neighborhood, protecting your inventory is essential.
About 20 cars are shuffled together each night inside three garages and a parking lot that surrounds a humble sales office.
You cannot walk between the cars — that’s how tightly they’re packed together.
Denny started this after someone broke in, loosened the lug nuts on the aluminum rims and shook the cars until the wheels fell off. When Moore arrived the next morning, nine cars sat on their axles — two wheels missing from each.
“Anytime [recycling prices for] scrap aluminum or catalytic converters go up, we get pounded,” said Bob Kover, a Denny’s sales associate.
Moore, a South Side native, is a natural in the art of haggling.
At 19, he purchased a 1974 Ford LTD with a $175 check he received for mowing lawns and doing yard work. After a little mechanical work, he sold that car, doubling his money.
“I actually started just buying cars on my own,” Moore said, “and slowly worked into a dealership.”
Moore purchased the corner area that houses his car lot in 1988.
It’s a bit more at ease one block north.
Gary and Jack Frank arrive at their family-owned parts store around 7:30 a.m., and the two expect their store to be unscathed. They rely on the neighborhood they have served for 40 years.
“The neighborhood watches out for each other,” Gary said. “And they watch out for our business because they’re our friends.”
Hundreds of commuters take the South Avenue exit off Interstate 680 toward Youngstown every day.
They drive by dilapidated, cinder-block buildings with neon signs that burnt out years ago. Graffiti adorns most buildings as most retailers have folded. They have fled an area plagued by crime and poverty.
But sprinkled in between are the few businesses that have found a way to survive.
Old-school and owner-operated, these retailers are glad they’re still around, but wary of the future.
Different histories
Leaning against the sales counter at Frank’s Auto Parts, 1014 South Ave., Jack, 56, glances over his shoulder at the line of inventory racks that hold what his brother estimates to be “a couple hundred-thousand parts.” The books detail $200,000 in products, but the shelves tell a story from another age.
“My dad started this business with maybe like $5,000,” said Jack. “He took a chance. [Then] he turned it over to me and my brother.”
Jack Frank Sr. is now 81, retired and enjoying the warm weather in Florida. His boys took over in 1995.
Gary, 52, started helping his father when he was 12.
Jack and Gary graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School on the South Side before taking full-time positions at the family business.
At the other end of the block from Frank’s is Randy Ware’s car repair shop, Ware’s Automotive, at 906 South Ave.
He planted a flower garden along the sidewalk out front to attract customers. It’s important to stand out on South Avenue, he said.
Ware rented the garage in 1994 and secured a land contract for the property in 2000.
He first started in the car-repair business in 1981 in a rented garage on Hillman Street. He was 20, armed with only a toolbox.
Thriving in the ‘hood’
Through 40 years of service, Frank’s Auto Parts has seen tough economic times, among the worst being the traffic-stopping South Avenue bridge closing of 1986.
Rich Yaslik is the store’s only other employee — answering the phone, punching in orders on the computer or stocking shelves. There’s always stocking to do. Yaslik, 40, has worked at the store since 1993.
The store stocks parts for typical Youngstown vehicles: domestic and older models — cars put back together to keep running.
Half of its sales come from local car dealers and garages. The other half are from walk-ins.
Keeping it local is vital for Moore’s sales, too.
“Seventy-five percent of my business is word of mouth,” Moore said. His business card reads: “Where the cars speak for themselves.”
Moore’s humble, low-income clientele influence the 15 to 20 cars he buys each week from an auction in Washington, Pa. He sells about 65 cars each month.
Ware moved to the neighborhood while the bridge was still closed. Low traffic stifled business. During times like those, he relied on his steady customers.
His clients have followed his business from its original location on the South Side, then to Belmont Avenue, Market Street and finally South Avenue.
Business is slow right now at Ware’s.
Stock parts ranging from $15 to $400 lie in their original, dust-covered packaging. Ware can no longer stock items in the hope of using them someday. Buy what you need, when you need it, is his philosophy.
In order to survive, Ware, 50, tows vehicles, demolishes buildings and lays brick to supplement his living.
Like Denny’s daily security shuffle, Ware has to make adjustments to protect his inventory. The front door stays locked, even during business hours. Ring the buzzer for service.
Street cred
The area businesses have an image that reflects the community and the customers.
You won’t find polished store displays, flashing signs, lavish waiting rooms or waxed floors at any of these South Avenue stores.
If you didn’t know Moore or his staff, you wouldn’t be able to distinguish the salesmen from the customers at Denny’s. Everyone is wearing stocking caps and hooded sweatshirts. It’s a stretch from auto retailers you might find in Boardman.
“I can’t talk to people in Boardman,” Moore said. “They see a little rust on the car, and they’re gone.”
What you will see at Moore’s dealership is a little negotiating.
“Now you’re being a little picky for $1,100, aren’t you?” Moore says to a difficult customer.
Moore offers up a Cavalier.
“I don’t want no Cavalier,” the man says.
“I got an Oldsmobile down here,” Moore says.
“I just got rid of an Olds,” the man says.
The wheeling and dealing ends as the empty-handed customer leaves.
What’s the future?
Two generations and 40 years later, Frank’s Auto Parts faces a new dilemma.
Gary has raised twin girls. One is living on the East Coast while the other is attending college in Columbus.
“They’re not coming back here,” Gary said with an air of agitation and thoughtful pride.
As for Jack, his daughter and son are likely candidates for college.
But neither one is saddened by their children’s disinterest in the family business. They appreciate the opportunity their father gave them and are proud to provide a better life, a better choice, for their children.
Ware plans on letting his business go to a family member — maybe his son. Only one problem: His son is more interested in $1,600 rims for his car than taking over the business.
When Moore looks through the smudged window across from his desk, he sees past the run-down building next door.
South Avenue is not only home for his business; he has set his sights on expanding the car lot and purchasing land just down the street.
“Not too far,” Moore said.
The NewsOutlet is a joint media venture by student and professional journalists and is a collaboration of Youngstown State University, WYSU radio and The Vindicator.