by Bea Peterson
“The time was right,” said Bruce Patire on Monday, August 20, as he sat in his office in the now closed Patire Chevrolet-Oldsmobile Buick, Inc. “The impetus was when Tinkham Real Estate became part of Prudential Commercial and they approached me. They have a tremendous network.” He noted that spring and fall are the most active real estate times. “I could have tried to hang on until next spring, but this is better.” [private]He hopes, of course, that the building will sell quickly. If it doesn’t, he will offer to rent office space and rent the back area for boat and vehicle storage. He believes the building would be a great place for a year around Farmers Co-op or a machine shop. “The building is wheelchair accessible, and the State is offering many business incentives,” he said. “It’s 10,000 square feet on .99 acres in the Village.”
For the next few weeks he will be busy purging motor vehicle records and in general cleanup. He will be holding an equipment auction on Saturday, September 15.
As for his employees, Patire said, “I feel good everybody has a place to go. I’m happy about that. Five have new jobs. Nancy Duket, a staple in the office, is retiring. Another employee recently had surgery. Patire’s son-in-law, Brian Mullen, is going into a heavy equipment operating apprenticeship program. “Brian was very important to the survival of the business this past year,” said Patire. “He spent many long hours here with me.”
No New Car Dealerships
“I had a tremendous workforce,” he said. “I know I would still be here if I could sell new cars. I sold two new cars to every used car. When the dealership closed, I lost 66 percent of my business.” He added, “With a population of 7,000 there will never be a new car dealership in this area again. Not even Troy can get a dealership.”
So, the time is right. “It’s either hurt now or hurt later,” he concluded.
Continuing With Old Customers
Patire’s automotive career is far from over. He will begin working at Whalen Chevrolet in Greenwich on Tuesday, September 3. “George and Tim have agreed to let me continue to do business with my old customers,” he said. “They will honor all my customer’s $14.95 oil change cards,” he added.
What Patire will miss the most is his customers. “I grew up with so many of them,” he said. “I’ve served three generations. Kids I had in T-ball came here to buy cars.” He believes one of the reasons he won a seat on the Hoosick Town Board was that people knew they could stop in any time and talk over Town issues with him and, for the past six months, many of them have.[/private]