After 32 years, Vince’s Auto Parts owner says he’s retiring, store is closing

As Mervin Autin walked through the rooms that were Vince’s Auto Parts for 32 years, he pointed to each area where once shelves stood and recounted precisely where each part was on them.

“I’m going to miss the place,” said Autin as he paused to fight back tears. “We had great employees. I will mostly miss the people. But, when I saw the handwriting on the wall, I encouraged them to start looking for other work and they found it.”

While Autin’s health problems forced the decision to close his Boutte business, the most challenging change came with a growing number of chain auto parts stores.

At age 74, Autin couldn’t deal with it anymore.

“There’s so much competition with retail with five auto parts stores,” he said.

Autin said it hit hard, requiring they substantially downsize their 19 employees.

“We were smoking until about two years ago,” he said of the market change in the area.

Autin said there were other factors in his independent store’s struggle.

“A lot of the small businesses depend on the government and the government doesn’t support small businesses,” he said.The writing on the wall became even more evident for Autin last year when his son, Vince, who also runs Vince’s Auto Repair at the same location, had to fill in for him nearly six months to keep the parts business running. He praised his son for serving as the backbone of the business until its end.

What kept his small, independent business running for many of its years was the generous support of local business companies like Dow Chemical, OxyChem, Monsanto, The Cajun Company and H.B. Zachry, Autin said.

“It’s been good,” he said. “I’ve got fond memories.”

The most fondly recalled of them was what they did to help others after Hurricane Katrina.

“The place was crazy with only one restroom available for about 100 miles,” Autin said. “We were swamped. Police cars came in with flat tires from all the nails on the road. We gave away food. We helped a lot of people.”

Autin mused so many people used their restroom they ran out of toilet paper, which his wife tried to remedy by bringing what they had from their home. Their daughter-in-law made sandwiches and the National Guard dropped off MREs (emergency meals ready to eat) for the many people caught in the storm’s impact.

“We really didn’t make money on it because we gave away so much,” he recalled. “But it was a good feeling that we could help people, and most people were so grateful.”

Autin said this is how mom and pop businesses support their community.

Vince’s Auto Parts started about 32 years ago.

Autin recounted how it got started when his son, Vince, had just completed a job at Waterford III and needed more work. He had attended mechanics school and decided to go into the auto parts business, which the two helped start in Hahnville.

About 25 years ago, they moved the business to Boutte and expanded it to include a tire and oil change center and auto repair work. Autin handled auto parts and Vince did auto repairs, which he will continue doing at the same location.

In the many years the business grew, Autin also recounted grandchildren working at the store, which served as a good training ground for them. They got retail experience, but he encouraged them to go on to other “bigger and better things.”

But now, to expedite the closing, Autin said they will sell remaining auto items at a major discount in the last two weeks of this month. Any remaining items will be donated to charity.

A new tenant is coming to the site, but he doesn’t know the name.

What Autin does know is – after three surgeries and two heart attacks – he’s looking forward to retirement.

“We had a lot of friends through the years,” he said. “I’ll miss the day to day. A family business is different than a corporate business. Everyone who came here was treated like family.”

 

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