Welcome to the family
All-For-Juan Garage, Louie Mazzocca Services and Stephen’s Auto Repair join the nationally-renowned NAPA AUTOPRO team
By Kristen Lipscombe
NAPA AUTOPRO has officially welcomed three new Atlantic Canadian members to its nationwide family.
Brand new Canadian shop with a Filipino twist All-For-Juan Garage, Inc., in Kilbride, N.L., opened its doors to the public in June and joined NAPA in October, long-time father- and son-run garage Louie Mazzocca Services, Ltd. in Dominion, N.S., signed on with the nationally recognized blue and yellow brand this past September and finally, Stephen’s Auto Repair in Miramichi, N.B., became an official NAPA AUTOPRO location in August.
With upwards of 630 service centeres from coast-to-coast-coast, NAPA AUTOPRO continues to grow its strong and steadfast reputation both among the managers and service technicians who run the top shops across the country and the countless customers who rely on the expertise of those service advisors and their mechanics to keep their vehicles running smoothly and both drivers and their loved ones safe while on the road.
Although Louie Mazzocca Services in Dominion and Stephen’s Auto Repair in Miramichi are already quite steeped in history and well-respected within their respective Maritime communities, All-For-Juan Garage replaces former shop Kilbride Auto and is a new passion project started up by business director James Pormento and service director Randy Mauri, who both hail from the Philippines, and have pooled their individual expertise to start up their new local business on the rock. Pormento came to Canada in 2007, starting out in Toronto, and making his way down east by 2012. Mauri emigrated to Newfoundland and Labrador just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mauri is the man with the automobile knowledge and technical skills, while Pormento brings the necessary business acumen to ensure All-For-Juan becomes a complete success in the small neighbourhood in southwest St. John’s. Pormento admits that deciding to work with partner Mauri, who he met through the closely connected Filipino community in Newfoundland, also includes having a shared faith in God and recognizing this opportunity as a blessing upon them both – and the community they now serve.
“I took my car over to him and had my brakes changed,” Pormento said of first encountering Mauri in the tiny community. “I saw a lot of people lining up for his service… I saw how he was doing things and thought, ‘he’s really good at what he does.’ ” Pormento, who as a side note has also worked as a physician, believes wholeheartedly in Mauri’s potential to lead the shop and mentor fellow service technicians. So far, Pormento’s instincts about his impressive business partner have been spot on. “It’s like finding some sort of a gem,” Pormento said. “He knows what he’s doing.”
All-For-Juan has been keeping busy, even through this wave of the pandemic, racking up positive reviews on social media, including one customer on Facebook who states “I would like to compliment the new garage open in Kilbride… I was amazed at how fast they were at repairing my vehicle and the price was really reasonable. Thank you very much All-For-Juan Garage for a good job and good price.”
Pormento explained that the name of the company, All-For-Juan, is a play on what’s a very popular name back home. “When you call someone a Juan, it’s almost like a Filipino,” he said. “And then Juan also stands for the Filipino name for John – like St. John’s.”
Finally, the new company name is fitting because the two partners truly believe in the motto “all for one, and one for all.” After all, their customers rely on and trust them for top-quality service, and they rely on the continued respect and support of their community.
A little further west in Nova Scotia, Louie Mazzocca Services has been abiding by similar customer-focused business values since the family first opened up shop in 1963, nestled in the Cape Breton community of Dominion.
“We just try to be fair to people,” manager Rick Mazzocca, who took over running the shop from pop Louie Mazzocca in 2018, told Auto and Trucking Atlantic Magazine. The company’s namesake, Louie, now 88 years young, still pops by once in a while to ensure everything at the garage is running up to his decades-long high standards.
Louie started ensuring a hard work ethic in his two sons early on, which meant Rick was put to work pumping gas at the service station across the road from the original shop as a young teen. He’s been working at the family business ever since and since becoming the boss has decided the time to join the NAPA AUTOPRO family has come. “I wanted to make a change,” he said.
Like NAPA AUTOPRO’s own stellar reputation across Canada, Louie Mazzocca Services in Cape Breton is well-known for its “quality work” and “we don’t over-charge” their loyal clients. “If they have any problems, they know they can bring the car back and it will be dealt with,” Rick said.
Even further west but still in the Maritime provinces, in northern New Brunswick’s largest city Miramichi, NAPA Auto Part’s newest location in that province also boasts proud business ethics. “Stephen’s Auto Repair Ltd. is a full-service automotive repair shop… offering the trustworthy, high-quality service and attention to detail to make your car or truck one that you can rely on, enjoy, and be proud of,” reads the company’s website.
Owner Stephen Bryenton has been running the well-respected shop, alongside 50/50 partner wife Joni Bryenton, for the past seven years.
“I took it over,” he told Auto and Trucking Atlantic. “I was travelling back and forth between Fort McMurray out west and the opportunity came up to come here.
“The previous owner that was here was looking to retire, so we talked back and forth back a bit, and he told me that I was going to work for him for a couple of years, and then he was going to pass the keys to me, and he was going out the door.”
When he wasn’t out west and was back home, Stephen filled in for other staff members at the shop when needed, which helped develop that trusting bond with the now-retired Stephen Williamson, who ran the shop for almost two decades. The fact that they share the same name made keeping the store’s name the same an easy and obvious choice.
Both Stephens enjoy working with customers. “I guess you kind of have to be a people person,” the new Stephen said.
“Being completely straight up and honest is (also) an absolute must,” he added. “He (old Stephen) was like that and that’s one thing I’ve been carrying on for the last seven years since he retired.”
It’s all about treating others the way you would want to be treated, new Stephen said. “If I was a customer coming into the shop for the first time, I wouldn’t want to be given false information and what not.”
He also advertises solely by word of mouth, which is clearly working for him, as business is good. Over the years, he’s “built a rapport” with NAPA and believes the new partnership is the right fit. “There are other stores; you can bounce stuff off other owners.”
Needless to say, NAPA AUTOPRO is just as glad to have these three top Atlantic Canadian shops join its growing national network of the very best in the automotive business. Welcome to the family.
