Car vet finally opens own shop: 'It's in my blood'

Palm Coast Observer
Business

Del Hydrick wanted his own auto garage since he was a kid, fixing cars in his native DeKalb, Ill. as part of a high school work cooperative program. And today, his dream has almost come true.

Hydrick, 46, is planning the grand opening of Del’s Full Service Garage.

“Cars are my passion,” he said in the freshly scrubbed lobby of the shop. “I love cars, all kinds of cars: new ones, old ones, fast ones. The style, the lines, I love all aspects of a car. I think it’s in my blood.”

The shop — at 2700 State Road 100, across from Wendy’s — will open its doors Monday, Hydrick said. A grand opening with hot dogs and refreshments will follow in about a month.

Hydrick, a Flagler County resident since 1987, worked at Tom Gibbs Chevrolet for 21 years as a service manager, then moved to a Tuffy automotive repair franchise, coverting the muffler and oil-change business to a full-service garage.

Branching out on his own is a “leap of faith,” he said. “My whole goal in life was to own my own business, and it finally came to where I financially could do it, and I have the guts to go and do it,” he said.

Hydrick has hired one mechanic and hopes to employ two more.

To get started, he got some help from the Palm Coast Business Assistance Center. The BAC’s Joe Roy helped him run the numbers and work on promotional strategy, meeting with him about 15 times over four months.

“We really worked with him on the financials of the business plan, and once he gets going, we’ll really work with him on how to advertise,” Roy said. “For somebody going into that business, they need to have a promotional plan so they’re not wondering in January what they’ll be doing in February. They need to be at least nine months out.”

Hydrick said he believes some of his customers will follow him to his new location.

“I have some extremely loyal customers who’ve been following me, and I decided it was time to do it on my own,” he said. He hopes to eventually expand the four-bay garage into an eight-bay garage.

“I realize many people wouldn’t want to start a business in this kind of economy,” he said. “However, I feel it’s the perfect time to start a business. And eventually, when things get comfortable and I get a feel for everything, we’re going to give back to the community.”

Hydrick’s two sons attend Flagler Palm Coast High School — one plays football and soccer, the other plays sax in the band — and Hydrick’s already envisioning the car washes and bake sales.

He said his father, also a small business owner, taught him a thing or two about what it takes to run a shop.

“He was a butcher by trade, and he had the foresight to buy a minimarket right on the corner, and converted that minimarket into a local food market. I was always working: stacking bottles or hauling beef, packing beef, stocking shelves," he said. "My father gave me my work ethic.”