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Monday, July 21, 2014

Automatic Business

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Entrepreneurs hope to cultivate local love with tint shop

When Andy Ezell and Wes Merriott stumbled upon a craigslist ad of a vacant body shop for rent, the two jumped on the chance to kick start their dreams of having an auto shop. Their specialty: tinting.

But it would be a few months before Andy’s Auto Tint would open at 418 Highland. Meriott said when the team opened the doors, they were met with a dilapidated building that had been uninhabited for over 20 years.

“The beams were rusted, there was flaking paint, corrosion,” he said. “It was pretty bad.”

From a complete electrical overhaul to bringing in car lifts, he and his business partner aimed to spark a new life into the dank building.

“We saw the potential. We saw what this place could be,” Merriott said.

After meeting with the building’s owner, Harold Fortenberry, the three came to an agreement and Andy’s Auto Tint was born; Ezell and Merriott opened March 14.

Since opening, the owners have already seen a boom in their business. They say their auto body doors are always open, and drivers stop by just to check out the place.

Cole Thomas, of Bossier City, has used Andy for a number of years with his trucks, so having a physical location to bring his vehicles to was a great asset.

“He’s the best in the area with good pricing and quick turn around times,” Thomas said. “Unlike competitors, you never have any issues with bubbling or imperfections. It’s top-notch work every time.”

Thomas had his 2014 Ford Super- Duty tinted including his side windows, sunroof and windshield.

Andy’s Auto Tint specializes in full body tinting with quality films having a lifetime warranty and space-age carbon nanofibers that help ensure their customer’s black never fades.

The space is a total of 2,500 square feet, 1,200 of that not being occupied. Merriott hopes that with the future of Andy’s Auto Tint, he and his business partner can turn the un-renovated space into a vehicle showroom equipped with accessories.

“We want to offer a place with items you can’t find at other auto body shops,” Merriott said.

Ezell, who has tinted for over 10 years, decided to open the shop with Merriott as not only a business move, but to ensure the quality of life with local businesses in Shreveport.

“Supporting local business is more important now than ever, especially with the current negative media attention that has been focused on Shreveport. This is an amazing city with lots to offer, but we keep being spotlighted for all the wrong reasons,” Ezell said. “If people paid more attention to those locals who truly care about this town and wish to see it thrive, they would see a whole new side of our home.”

Merriott said he not only loves the location (being a part of the Highland neighborhood), but he also loves the history behind the building.

“It’s great to be in a space with so many stories,” he said.

One of those stories is from the building’s owner, Fortenberry, who purchased the location in the late 50s. He said he purchased the building from Jack Leach when it was previously a radiator shop.

“I went in and rented half of the building from him in the late 50s,” he said. “Jack got out of the business and I assumed the whole thing.”

For over 30 years, Fortenberry ran an automotive repair shop and parts house, but as he became older decided to rent the building out to various other occupants.

“It was a pretty nice area back in those days. It wasn’t a booming area, but it was pretty nice,” Fortenberry said.

Fortenberry said the building was built sometime in the late 1890s to shoe horses as well as blacksmithing, then turned into Shreveport’s first Cadillac dealership. The building has also housed a gas station and north Louisiana’s first Office of Motor Vehicles.

Fortenberry is excited about a business like Andy’s Auto Tint occupying the shop, and said he hopes to see the revitalization of that area continue.

“Those boys there now, they’re good guys,” he said. “They have a good business and I hope they can stay.”

Ezell, 27, is among many young entrepreneurs making waves in Shreveport, including the Agora Borealis arts marketplace, Day Old Blues record store and Highland’s Olive Street Thrift & Vintage.

He said his business will stay relevant in this city because he and Merriott, 26, are both from the area and know what having city pride is, as well as them turning a nearlyforgotten building into something new.

“We aren’t here to wipe away the past; we are here to restore it, and with that, we want to bring old-fashioned, local family businesses to the forefront,” Ezell said. “A small town feel for the biggest small town in the south.”

–Derick Jones

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