Bradford residents may have noticed a recent change to the auto shop at 412 Holland St. W.
On May 12, the Bianchi family announced via social media the closure of their long-time Bradford automotive repair shop, Bianchi’s Auto Centre, after what they estimated to be about 40 years in business.
The closure comes as owner Peter Bianchi enters his retirement at age 75, and adjusts to the change of pace.
“I’m still processing here. Hopefully, I’ll have some more time to spend with my kids, travel a bit and do some more golfing,” Bianchi said.
Bianchi recalled how he came to Canada from Italy when he was 19, to be with family who were already in Bradford. He remembers the shop was originally much smaller with a little gas bar, store and three bays in which to repair vehicles.
At the time he remembers most of the surrounding area as empty fields, with the exception of an OPP station on the corner of Melbourne Drive.
“It wasn’t even a Sobeys at that time. There was no plaza there,” Bianchi said, adding that one of things he liked best about Bradford was “the small-town atmosphere that we had.”
As Bradford grew so, too, did the business, and “then 20 years later we expanded to accommodate a Shell with a car wash and all the other stuff,” he said.
Over the years, Bianchi said he worked on most makes and models of vehicles from a range of different customers.
“I work on whatever they bring in. Whatever it is, if I can do it, I’ll do it,” he said.
Bianchi acknowledged that the automotive industry has changed a lot over 40 years, with increased complexity and diversity of automobiles leading to an increased need for more training and equipment as well as the cost that comes along with it.
Still, he didn’t seem to let it faze him.
“You go with the flow,” he said.
Having been in business for so long, Bianchi admitted that not every customer was satisfied.
“We had some of my customers for 40 years. Some were not so happy, but that’s part of the game sometimes, that’s the way it goes,” he said.
Despite that, the response to the social media post announcing the closure received more than 60 comments, almost all of which praised the shop for its services, and provided well wishes.
That leaves some big shoes to fill for Mike McGraw and his partners, who are opening a new auto repair shop in the same building.
Along with Sencan Gulerman, Dan Farrell and Dan Tran, McGraw is co-owner of the new Bumper to Bumper auto service.
When asked how he felt about opening a new shop in Bradford, McGraw said, “I think it’s fantastic,” later adding “We’re hoping this is going to be their flagship store for Ontario.”
McGraw plans to offer full automotive service, with a unique addition.
“Bumper to Bumper is owned by Uni-Select Canada, and they have opened an auto service division where they’re offering outstanding warranties of three years, 60,000 km on parts and labour on all service. Even a competitors warranty; if you get something done somewhere else and you’re not satisfied, we can cover it for you parts and labour, so long as you have a copy of the original bill,” he said.
If that sounds too good to be true, just know that this isn’t McGraw’s first time running an auto shop.
“I’ve been in the auto industry 40 years. I owned a large shop in Newmarket for 25 years, opened up another shop in Vandorf and then sold that to my employees. I’m from East Gwillimbury, so we try to do as much as we can for the community,” he said.
McGraw also taught at Centennial College for seven years as an instructor in the School of Transportation at the Ashtonbee Campus.
“I’ve been in the auto industry my whole life. I taught every subject at every level,” he said.
Bradford residents looking to take advantage of that experience and knowledge can look forward to the grand opening of Bumper to Bumper, planned for Thursday, June 1 at 412 Holland St. W.
