By Grace Braswell 

LaGrange gained another business Saturday with the grand opening of Pep Boys, a vehicle repair and maintenance shop on Lafayette Parkway.

Pep Boys Store Manager David Miller said LaGrange’s friendly, small-town atmosphere made the city a perfect place to open a new location.  

“The Pep Boys chain has been around since 1921,” Miller said. “We felt like we were needed here to help LaGrange in their growing process.”

At the grand opening event, several prizes were given away, including free oil changes and tire rotations. 

In attendance were the original Pep Boys mascots, Manny, Moe and Jack — characters named after the three original founders of the store. There was also a DJ present to set an upbeat mood for the grand opening of the store.

The LaGrange division is one of the smaller Pep Boys stores, which means there is more of the newer, advanced technology available.

 The LaGrange store offers the newest Pep Boys concept models, which comes with several benefits when it comes to car service.

“There are several advantages to having a smaller store,” Miller said. “The atmosphere is much more customer friendly. There is a face to face type of vibe.”

Pep Boys offers services on cars including tire rotations, alignments and oil changes. 

The goal at Pep Boys is to offer cheaper prices, a shorter wait time and a more convenient way of getting car maintenance than at a dealership. 

 “We just want to maintain a friendly environment,” Miller said. 

He said the Pep Boys team’s hope in LaGrange is to embed deeper into the community and offer a friendly alternative to car services at dealerships. 

Pep Boys is open Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. For more information call (706) 616-9120.