Dan Stroud recalls with some obvious pride the day two fellas from a big-box retailer walked into his store some years ago. It was obvious who they were. Both were in the uniform of their employer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018What can I help you with?\u2019\u201d Stroud says. \u201cHe goes, \u2018Well nothing. We’re just going to see how we’re going to run you out of business.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody likes a bully. Stroud told them to leave.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow they have an account,\u201d he says, laughing.<\/p>\n
Stroud Auto Supply \u2014 the moment you cross the threshold the glorious industrial musk hovers like cigarette smoke at an old bar or Mrs. Baird\u2019s yeast rising on I-30 \u2014 is still standing on Sylvania, 62 years after Stroud\u2019s father, E.R. \u201cBlackie\u201d Stroud opened the business in 1963. Stroud Auto Supply is very likely the last remaining independent auto parts store in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started working here when I was 8,\u201d Stroud says. \u201cReading catalogs. Like some of these catalogs I have hanging up here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blackie Stroud\u2019s decision to start the business, Dan Stroud says, was based on necessity \u2014 the mother of all invention. Blackie, originally from Tulsa, had been laid off at a container corporation. He had a friend with an auto parts store, Riley Auto Supply. Through the generosity of an auto parts warehouse, Duncan and Co., Blackie \u2014 his hair was pitch black, his son says \u2014\u00a0opened up his own store under the banner of a second Riley Auto Supply. Duncan let him go into business with no money down, Dan Stroud says.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes I get emotional,\u201d Stroud says, thinking about the business\u2019 beginnings. \u00a0<\/p>\n
That evolved into Stroud Auto Supply.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis parents used to tell me stories when they first opened,\u201d says Jamie Stroud, Dan\u2019s wife, a retired school counselor who has stopped by on this day. \u201cHis mother would cook dinner and bring it to the store to allow them to stay open longer just to make ends meet.”<\/p>\n
Says Dan: \u201cHe worked on Christmas, he worked on New Year’s. He worked every holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dan Stroud and his brother, Randy, took ownership of the store upon Blackie\u2019s death in 1995. Randy Stroud died suddenly in 2014. The brothers expanded the business in 1995 by buying what is now the other half of the Stroud\u2019s building.<\/p>\n
Each May, Stroud hosts a customer appreciation day with a car show, food, and entertainment. Old classic cars line the store outside. Super Pollo nearby caters.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a way to say thank you to Riverside,\u201d Jamie says. \u201cThey’ve been really good to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Riverside is part of this family.<\/p>\n
Alex Espino is the manager of the store. His son, Alex Jr., also works there. They call him \u201cJunior.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s just easier that way,\u201d says Junior, with a smile. Alex has been working at the store for 36 years \u2014 since he was 18.<\/p>\n
You can see a day when Espino and Junior are in control here. Charlie Garcia, Billy Cockrell, and Victor Sellers work in the shop, too. All of these guys are family, with an air of mischief and fun ever present among them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s family,\u201d says Jamie. \u201cIt’s completely family.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dan Stroud recalls with some obvious pride the day two fellas from a big-box retailer walked into his…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":417982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,48298,195718,419,9604,60916,7371,7372,13814,358,7453,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-417981","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-automotive-industry","10":"tag-automotive-parts","11":"tag-cars","12":"tag-entrepreneurs","13":"tag-family-owned-businesses","14":"tag-fort-worth","15":"tag-fortworth","16":"tag-john-henry","17":"tag-texas","18":"tag-top-story","19":"tag-tx","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115646288857663951","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}