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Route 66 With Renee: Entrepreneurs Last in Los Angeles

On Friday morning, the road trip crew woke up hours before the sun came out, packing up our gear for our last day of the trip.

We hit the road with seven hours in the desert ahead of us. Not the biggest morning person, I closed my eyes for a few extra hours of shuteye before I woke up to see nothing but the barren desert and unique mountain scenery ahead of us.

After we crossed into California and drove through the Valley, we saw greenery finally appear, and the mountains surrounded us. We were excited for the final visits of our five-day trip.

Day 5: Los Angeles/Santa Monica

Our first stop before arriving in Los Angeles was at the Route 66 Tire Pros in Glendora, California, where we met Harry Boyajian, who co-owns the business (in addition to two other Tire Pros shops) with his brother Steve.

Boyajian shared that his customers at Route 66 Tire Pros were very loyal to the family-owned business and that they try to give back in any way they possibly can to support the Glendora community. After interviewing him about the business, we got back in the car to face Los Angeles traffic head-on for our next stop.

After about an hour of lunch traffic, we made it to Anawalt Lumber in Los Angeles, where we met owner David Anawalt.

He gave us a quick tour of the lumberyard, garden center and store and we chatted about all they’ve done and continue to do in their 93-year history.

According to Anawalt, the business began on an old lima bean field and survived the Great Depression. It’s been around ever since. Current CEO Rolando Robles won the Top Gun award from the North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) last year.

“This lima bean field turned out to be a really great location,” Anawalt says. “The houses have increased in value; people seem to build newer and better homes. We have about a 40- to 60-percent split between consumer customers and remodelers. We’re in this for the long haul—we are planning to be around for many more years.”

In addition to being in a great area, Anawalt says their employees are a very important part of the business.

“Our employees are our No. 1 asset,” he says. “We invest in them through training and they, in turn, are typically here for the long haul.”

It was great to meet him and learn more about this longtime family-owned business. Once we wrapped up his video interview, we got a few pictures before getting back on the road.

Our last stop before making it to the end of our Route 66 Road Trip was at P.O. Bahn & Sons in Santa Monica. We met owner Ray Bahn and his son Phil, who work together in the shop repairing and selling power equipment, specifically as Stihl dealers.

The two have many years of experience in the longtime family business and a love for supporting the community by assisting firefighters during more than 30 forest fires in the state. The two travel to do work on-site and help with a mobile saw repair unit to provide parts and services to firefighters on wild land fires.

It was great getting to learn about the nearly 90-year-old business from Bahn, who says much of the surrounding Santa Monica businesses are rapidly changing as he continues to provide services and equipment to those who need it.

After the interview, we got back in the van for one of our last times, driving toward the Santa Monica Pier and the official end of Route 66 and our trip.

It was such a feeling of accomplishment to know our team was able to go all the way from Oklahoma City on Monday to our final destination at the Santa Monica Pier around 6 p.m. Friday. Lots of time in the car, at local businesses and sightseeing along the way made it a trip I’ll remember for years to come.

To read my final recap on the Great American Route 66 Road Trip adventure I went on with Independent We Stand and to see more behind-the-scenes images from the trip, be sure to check Hardware Retailing‘s Monday’s newsletter and our website, hardwareretailing.com.

To catch up on anything you may have missed in the past week, check out Hardware Retailing’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as NRHA’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

About Renee Changnon

Renee Changnon is the retail outreach coordinator for NRHA. She meets with retailers in their stores and at industry events and introduces them to the services NRHA provides. Renee previously worked as a member of the NRHA communications team. She earned a degree in visual journalism from Illinois State University, where she served as the features editor for the school newspaper. After college, she implemented marketing and promotions initiatives at Jimmy John’s franchise locations across the country. She enjoys exploring books with her book club, Netflix marathons and hosting goat yoga at her apartment complex. Renee Changnon 317-275-9442 rchangnon@nrha.org

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