Business Profile
Alexopoulos Family Welcomes Its Community Home
By Joe Kourieh
A
lexandra Alexopoulos sat, smiling, behind her makeshift desk – a fold-out workbench covered in papers, a laptop and a few half-full water bottles – in her new office, as it was built around her bit by bit. Accompanied by the occasional screech of a drill or echo of a distant hammer strike, she went over the different facets of the redevelopment of her family’s business, Randolph Automotive, in detail. “I knew what I wanted this to look like,” she said of the project, currently in the meat of its progress. “We don’t want to look like anybody else. We want you to come here and feel like you’re at home.” Breaking the mold is not cheap in terms of money or time. Weighing in at $2.5 million and completed in two phases, the redevelopment has been in various stages of planning for over 10 years and in progress for three. The first phase involved the construction of the new six-bay, 3,740-square-foot garage and attached office/customer reception building (complete with new equipment and digital record systems), which was specifically done before the demolition of the old garage in order to avoid putting the 6
team of highly skilled mechanics, who make up the most profitable arm of the business, out of work. With that phase wrapped up, the next phase is a new gas station and convenience store, set to be completed by Halloween of this year. “It’s a little scary to think about, but to me, the thrill of something new, of creating it – that’s just awesome,” Alexandra said. “It’s super exciting when you see progress.” “I’m quite pleased with it,” her husband Bill, a bit dusty but looking content, said of their gradually materializing brainchild. “To actually see it come to fruition is pretty exciting.” “It’s gonna be a nice site,” he added, leaning by a small window, out of which could be seen the embryonic second phase of their project, featuring huge, partially buried green tanks and the early makings of the soon-to-be convenience store. Three Generations of Leadership Development In order to even consider an undertaking on the scale of the Randolph Automotive redevelopment, a business needs
established financial success, as well as driven leaders – two elements this particular family business has never lacked, according to Alexandra. After cutting his teeth as an automotive technician working on buses and big rigs in his native Athens, Greece, Bill’s father, Chris Alexopoulos, set his sights on the U.S., home to a few uncles and aunts, and a host of opportunities for career and personal fulfillment. He migrated to the Boston area in 1955; shortly after, his talents were recognized by local businessman Eli Kravitz, who asked him to partner up to run a service station in Randolph. This set in motion a family enterprise that would run through three generations and culminate in the multimillion-dollar investment currently buzzing and clanking away at 1245 North Main Street. But there’s more to this family business’ success than a well-timed partnership and skill under the hood. Alexandra and Bill explained that the ethics of hard work, honesty and the drive to succeed are, and always have been, at the core of the Alexopoulos family’s endeavors. “Nobody is going to hand you suc-