Parlor City Oil Shop Celebrates Grand Opening
The Wells County Chamber of Commerce staff and Ambassadors welcomed Eric Bucher, owner of Parlor City Oil Shop, with a ribbon cutting to celebrate his new business. Parlor City Oil Shop is located at 1309 South Main Street in Bluffton.
Bucher is a native of Wells County and always had an inspiration of owning a business. Bucher stated that his father and father-in-law own their own businesses, and this inspired him to do the same. “I have always wanted to work for myself, and once Kent Beer sold this business, I decided to take a leap of faith. Here I am and I couldn’t be happier.”
Bucher was previously working for the State Highway Department and part of his job was doing light mechanical work on equipment and machines. “I have always worked with my hands and is something I really enjoy doing,” said Bucher. “I also worked at the stone quarry inspecting trucks and fixing the machines, so I gained a lot of experience over the years.”
“People seem to be happy that we are opening our doors again,” explained Bucher. “There is a huge client base with Dedrick’s previously owning the business, then Kent Beer, and now I want to keep it going. We will have the same great local experience you have come to know and love from the past. I want to be the best oil change place in town and be historic like Kelly’s Kwik Change.”
Bucher said, “I have priced my services to be $10 to $15 lower than store competitors because I don’t have the overhead like the others. I don’t have to pay employees because it is just me working the business. Bluffton has a lot of family-owned businesses and it’s important we support them.”
“I may take a little longer than 10 minutes to change your oil; however, I am going to make sure your vehicle is done right,” explained Bucher. “I also want to get to know my customers and have a relationship with them.”
The car wash behind the building is currently not operable and Bucher’s future goal is to get it running again. The adjacent side of the building has a large space that Bucher is open to leasing.
Parlor City Oil Shop offers oil changes, checks the tire pressure, will top off the fluids and is open Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm and Saturday from 9am to 12pm. Appointments are not needed unless a customer would need accommodations after hours.
Pictured in the photo left to right:
Erin Daugherty, State Farm, Chamber Ambassador
Doug Fear, Edward Jones, Chamber Ambassador
Nick Huffman, Steffen Group, Chamber Ambassador
Nile Bucher
Trent Bucher, Honegger-Ringger & Co
Casey Robbins, Farmers & Merchants State Bank
Kendyl Bucher, Parlor City Oil Shop
Piercen Harnish, Shelton Financial, Chamber Ambassador
Garrett Bucher, Youth for Christ
Collins Bucher, Parlor City Oil Shop
Eric Bucher, Parlor City Oil Shop
Kody Kumfer, Forgotten Children Worldwide, Chamber Ambassador
Kelli Bucher
Thom Miller, Caylor-Nickel Foundation Family YMCA
Kent Thompson
Keith Muhlenkamp, First Merchants Bank, Chamber Ambassador
Julie Rupp, Cupp Real Estate
Tim Hallman YMCA Metro
Charlie Thompson, Fairway Flooring
Chris Crabtree, Office of Jim Banks
Stacey Duncan, WEG Commercial Motors, Chamber Ambassador
Erin Prible, Executive Director, Wells County Chamber of Commerce
Kevin Pritchard, Ruoff Mortgage, Chamber Ambassador
Cyndee Fiechter, North Eastern Group Realty, Chamber Ambassador