Walking into Tony Mendolia’s Plant City Automotive is like walking back in time. The waiting room has been completely redone in a retro style. Tin siding climbs up half the wall, pictures of classic cars dot the hallway to the bathroom which is labeled “Pit Stop.” A black and white checkered floor is the boldest trait in the vintage vibe.
Last year, the waiting room looked completely different. But this year is a fresh start that actually began two years ago.
Mendolia had been looking to move to Whispering Woods. When he found out a customer, David Thurston, lived in the neighborhood, Mendolia asked him about it. Liking what he heard, Mendolia found himself waiting at his old home on moving day.
He had asked Thurston if he would help him move the heavy stuff to his new home. Thurston went above and beyond, bringing his son, Josh, and an 18-wheeler.
Thurston has done other odd favors, as well, including installing cabinets and ceiling fans in Mendolia’s new home.
So, when Josh came to Plant City Automotive to have his air conditioning fixed, Mendolia wanted to return the favor.
“If he can do that for me, why can’t I do it for him?” Mendolia said. “Since then, it’s been back and forth.”
After fixing Josh’s car, Mendolia told Josh, who is also in the military, that he would call him later with the bill.
He never did.
But Josh wasn’t going to let it slide. He continued to call the shop. Each time, Mendolia gave him a different excuse.
The computer’s not working.
I lost the bill.
Thurston loved Mendolia’s generosity and attitude. So, he hatched a plan to top Mendolia’s act of kindness to Josh.
Thurston asked for the keys to Plant City Automotive in December. He gave the Mendolias one condition: Don’t come back until the shop reopened after the Christmas holidays.
For more than a week, Thurston and a group of friends labored to paint the walls, install new décor, including signs, decals and pictures, and put in a new floor and cabinets.
The main room is retro-themed, but the bathroom got a roaring repair in Harley-Davidson orange.
They didn’t stop there. The door to the office is labeled “Crew Chief.” Its theme bleeds Florida State maroon and gold.
“I love it,” Mendolia’s wife, Holly, said. “Before, you walked in, and it was like a hole in the wall. He just did an awesome job with it. Just a complete flip.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
WAY OF LIFE
Although Tony Mendolia and David Thurston have been one-upping each other with good deeds, Mendolia has been helping clients since he opened Plant City Automotive off James L. Redman Parkway in 2007.
One elderly client recently brought in an old car that had been sitting in her back yard for two years. All four tires were flat, in addition to a host of more serious problems. When Mendolia opened the hood to see what engine repairs it needed, a family of possums stuck their heads out of the top.
“We basically took a junk car and revitalized it,” Mendolia said.
Mendolia felt for the client whose husband had been in the hospital around the holidays. She also couldn’t afford the final bill. So Mendolia put her on a payment plan.
“We try to treat others the way we want to be treated,” Mendolia said.