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Brown’s Automotive
from Ratchet+Wrench - February 2023
by EndeavorBusinessMedia-VehicleRepairGroup
BY CHRIS JONES PHOTOGRAPHY BY NITISH SINHA
Ask Tonnika Haynes, owner of Brown’s Automotive, what attracted her to the auto care business, and she’ll tell you plainly— “I’m a daddy’s girl.”
Her father, William Brown, started the business in 1980 as a collision center and by 2000, he expanded into automotive repair. The elder Brown, now retired, turned over the reins to Tonnika in 2016.
A Shop in Her Image
One touch Haynes added was an outdoor waiting area with a greenspace. Haynes says green plants are her thing. She also built an extension to the original shop to handle new customer growth.
“In the original shop we have three bays, three lifts, an alignment rack; all Hunter equipment. We’ve got our Hunter aligner, Hunter mount and balancer and tire mount. Behind each of the three bays, we have an additional bay,” Haynes says.
Tools & Training for Success
Each tech at Brown’s is given a computer and tools.
“They have access to Identifix, ALLDATA, Mitchell and we use Tekmetric so they’re able to walk themselves through the repair process,” Haynes says.
And while ADAS isn’t on the menu yet, training for it has begun.
“We’re going to start with the Car Gurus guys every other week, and then we found some online classes that we’re going to participate in and some onsite training,” Haynes says.
BROWN’S AUTOMOTIVE
Owner: Tonnika Haynes
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
Staff Size: 5
Shop Size: 5,100 square feet
Number of Lifts/Bays: 5 lifts, alignment rack/ 4 bays
Annual Revenue: $1.25 million
